Wednesday, March 7, 2007

WGA Reports Back To MS Even If You Choose Not To Install - Aviran's Place Heise online reports on a very interesting action Microsoft is taking during the installation of WGA. When you start WGA setup and get to the license agreement page but decided NOT to install the highly controversial WGA component and cancel the installation, the setup program will send your info and the fact that you choose not to install WGA back to their servers. In addition to that it seems that the setup program send some information stored in your registry to http://genuine.microsoft.com/. While it does not specifically identify the user, it looks like it does send some identification of your computer and Windows version (see picture) to Microsoft servers. 1:06:01 PM  PermaLink   / trackback []

Microsoft WGA Phones Home Even When Told No. Microsoft WGA Phones Home Even When Told No. Aviran writes "When you start WGA setup and get to the license agreement page but decided NOT to install the highly controversial WGA component and cancel the installation, the setup program will send information stored in your registry and the fact that you choose not to install WGA back to Microsoft's servers." [Slashdot] 1:00:00 PM  PermaLink   / trackback []

U.S. Senators Pressure Canada on Canadian DMCA. U.S. Senators Pressure Canada on Canadian DMCA. An anonymous reader writes  "The U.S. copyright lobby brought out some heavy artillery last week as it continued to pressure Canada to introduce a Canadian DMCA. U.S. Ambassador to Canada David Wilkins gave a public talk in which he described Canadian copyright law as the weakest in the G7, while Senators Dianne Feinstein and John Cornyn wrote to Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper to urge him to bring in movie piracy legislation."  [Slashdot] 12:49:09 PM  PermaLink   / trackback []

'30s Hollywood Cartoon Censorship. '30s Hollywood Cartoon Censorship. Cartoon Brew highlights how the Hayes Code impacted cartoons in 1939 -- male characters couldn't be effeminate, kids had to behave and Flossie the cow's sexy udders had to be clothed. At Table of Malcontents. [Wired News: Top Stories] 12:45:23 PM  PermaLink   / trackback []

Stations agree on anti-payola settlement | Houston Chronicle Radio listeners weary of hearing the same songs over and over may have something to cheer about: Broadcasters have tentatively agreed to anti-payola settlements that could shake up music playlists at some of the nation's largest radio chains. Four major broadcast companies would pay the government $12.5 million and provide 8,400 half-hour segments of free airtime for independent record labels and local artists, The Associated Press has learned. The agreement is aimed at curbing payola -- generally defined as radio stations accepting cash or other consideration from record companies in exchange for airplay. The practice has been around as long as the radio industry and was made illegal after scandals in the late 1950s. Two Federal Communications Commission officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because final language has not been approved by the full commission, said the monetary settlement is part of a consent decree between the FCC and Clear Channel Communications Inc., CBS Radio, Entercom Communications Corp. and Citadel Broadcasting Corp. The settlement was reached at the same time as a separate deal designed to lead to more airtime for smaller record companies and their lesser-known artists as well as local musicians. 12:17:54 PM  PermaLink   / trackback []

Major Broadcasters Hit With $12M Payola Fine. Major Broadcasters Hit With $12M Payola Fine. Gr8Apes writes with a just-breaking AP story reporting that the FCC is wrapping up a settlement in which four major broadcast companies would pay the government $12.5 million and provide 8,400 half-hour segments of free airtime for independent record labels and local artists. The finish line is near after a 3-year investigation. An indie promoter is quoted: "It's absolutely the most historic agreement that the independent community has had with radio. Without a doubt, nothing else comes close." [Slashdot] 12:15:47 PM  PermaLink   / trackback []

Nightline NSA Spy Exclusive: Dud. Nightline NSA Spy Exclusive: Dud. AT&T whistleblower Mark Klein breaks silence to tell ABC News' Nightline about the NSA eavesdropping on the internet, but reveals little new information. In 27B Stroke 6. [Wired News: Top Stories] 12:07:37 PM  PermaLink   / trackback []

Malware Increased 172 Percent in 2006, According to Report. Malware Increased 172 Percent in 2006, According to Report. Amount of malware detected in 2006 same as past 15 years, combined. [GT: Security and Privacy] 11:57:37 AM  PermaLink   / trackback []

Patient control of EHR data on network gets mixed reaction The Health and Human Services Department has received mixed reviews for its decision to insist that the next iteration of the Nationwide Health Information Network (NHIN) allow patients to control who sees their electronic health records on the network. Dr. Robert Kolodner, interim national coordinator of health information technology, said March 1 that trial networks funded by his office should give "people the capability to decide how they view, store and control access to their own information. A person could say how that information flows to specific entities or completely block the flow of information." "If they do what they say, it's a tremendous thing for privacy," said Dr. Deborah Peel, founder of the Patient Privacy Rights Foundation. "It's exactly what we've been talking about for a long time." Peel said she talked with Kolodner and learned that he wants to give patients the ability to control what happens to their health information, "down to the data field level." "I think his intentions are fantastic," she said. Asked whether such a network would be technically feasible, Peel said the existing technology would support that degree of granularity in controlling the flow of EHR data. But Mark Rothstein, director of the Institute for Bioethics, Health Policy and Law at the University of Louisville School of Medicine, said he doubts the HHS move will make a difference. "I don't really have a lot of confidence that it would really have any effect whatsoever," said Rothstein, a member of the official National Committee on Vital and Health Statistics. The reason Rothstein was less than enthusiastic about the HHS move: Privacy problems are primarily policy and legal issues in his view, not technology-based. Rothstein recently testified before a Senate subcommittee, criticizing HHS for failing to tackle privacy and other policy issues associated with development of the NHIN. Kolodner's announcement doesn't address many of the policy questions, he said. Kolodner's office "has indicated no prior interest in this concept," Rothstein said, suggesting that there is no way to know how committed HHS is to its plans. Others have pointed out it is one of the first HHS health IT initiatives that deviates from plans outlined by Kolodner's predecessor, Dr. David Brailer. 11:56:32 AM  PermaLink   / trackback []

Wal-Mart fires technician who recorded phone calls March 05, 2007   (Reuters) -- CHICAGO - Wal-Mart Stores Inc. said today it fired a systems technician for intercepting text messages of people who were not Wal-Mart employees and for recording telephone conversations with a New York Times reporter without authorization. Wal-Mart, the world's largest retailer, said an internal investigation found the technician had monitored and recorded phone calls between Wal-Mart public relations employees and a New York Times Co. reporter between September and January. The Bentonville, Ark.-based retailer also said the technician, who worked in its information systems division, intercepted and stored text messages that contained certain key words, including those sent by people in the Bentonville area who were not Wal-Mart employees. Wal-Mart spokeswoman Mona Williams said on a call with reporters that the technician "did this on his own." While interviews with the technician gave the retailer an idea as to why he recorded the calls, Williams said she could not disclose the reasons because the case has been turned over to federal investigators. 11:52:20 AM  PermaLink   / trackback []

Spying at Wal*Mart: Human nature run amuck? Spying at Wal*Mart: Human nature run amuck?  Does the Wal-Mart eavesdropping debacle have the potential to be this year's HP scandal? A former IT security staffer for the retailer evaluates what might have happened. [Computerworld Privacy News] 11:46:37 AM  PermaLink   / trackback []

Mass. motor vehicle registry warns of spoof site. Mass. motor vehicle registry warns of spoof site. The Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles is warning customers about an online scam intended to trick them out of their credit card information and their money.  [Computerworld Privacy News] 11:44:41 AM  PermaLink   / trackback []

Texas House exempts courthouse clerks from privacy laws. Texas House exempts courthouse clerks from privacy laws. The Texas House of Representatives has approved a bill that would allow local courthouse clerks to disclose "in the ordinary course of business" Social Security numbers contained in public records maintained by their offices. Computerworld Privacy News] 11:43:07 AM  PermaLink   / trackback []

Crack! Security expert hacks RFID in UK passport. Crack! Security expert hacks RFID in UK passport. The British government says that forgery of their new biometric passports is inconceivable, but a security expert has demonstrated a successful crack of the embedded RFID chip and its info. And he did it without taking the document out of its mailing envelope. [Computerworld Privacy News] 11:41:33 AM  PermaLink   / trackback []

Turkey Censors YouTube. Turkey Censors YouTube. FM Reader writes "After a controversial mock-up video reportedly submitted by a Greek member about Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the founder of modern Turkey, Turkish courts ordered the national ISPs to ban the online video service, YouTube. YouTube hostnames are currently redirected at the DNS level to a page that announces the court order." [Slashdot: Your Rights Online] 11:39:03 AM  PermaLink   / trackback []