FCC declines to investigate NSA-telco link
,----[ Quote ]
| FCC Chairman Kevin Martin has officially declined to launch an inquiry into
| the behavior of US telephone companies after September 11.
`----
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20071008-fcc-declines-to-investigate-nsa-telco-link.html
http://tinyurl.com/ytll6j
Serious Privacy Questions Raised About HealthVault
,----[ Quote ]
| Paraphrased, the questions are:
|
| # Will my data be off shored and therefore subject to no US law?
| # Will my data be merged with other non-health related information Microsoft
| collects about me?
| # If read/write authority is granted, can the grantee give read/write
| authority to my data?
|
| Surprisingly from its privacy statement the answers to the above appears to
| be yes. Not mentioned are other additional security concerns beyond the
| obvious issue that the HealthVault software cannot be examined by most 3rd
| parties for security and privacy flaws.
`----
http://www.linuxmednews.com/1191906682
Microsoft tries to accuse Google of comprimising privacy, but as the stories
below show, no-one comes close to Microsoft when it comes to pulling your mind
out of your body.
Related:
Use Health Vault, Lose Your Rights
,----[ Quote ]
| Microsoft has announced (NY Times Article) Health Vault. What should have
| followed here is a review of the service by my actually trying it.
|
| [...]
|
| Heard enough? So had I. I'm absolutely going to pass on Health Vault. In
| addition to looking like the Microsoft Passport debacle redux, this is a very
| one-sided contract. They can harm you but you cannot harm them. There is no
| way for any 3rd party to verify that their privacy and security software
| works.
`----
http://www.linuxmednews.com/1191521272
Microsoft sued by Beijing student for privacy infringement
,----[ Quote ]
| Lu argued that Microsoft had violated his legal rights by providing a formal
| contract which had to be accepted in order to proceed with the installation.
`----
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2007-09/13/content_6718045.htm
Yahoo!, Microsoft ink web pact with Chinese government
,----[ Quote ]
| Microsoft and Yahoo! have signed a pact with the Chinese government
| that "encourages" the big name web players to record the identities of
| bloggers and censor content. So says Reporters Without Borders, an
| organization that fights for journalistic rights across the globe.
`----
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/08/24/yahoo_and_microsoft_ink_chinese_blogging_pact/
Microsoft, Yahoo Tailor Ads To Users' Behavior
,----[ Quote ]
| Google will remain on the sidelines — at least for now. But its Web portal
| rivals are stepping up their efforts to use behavioral targeting to make
| display, or banner, ads more relevant to Web site visitors.
`----
http://investors.com/editorial/IBDArticles.asp?artsec=17&issue=20070823
,----[ Quote ]
| Vista--Microsoft’s latest operating system--may prove to be most
| appropriately named, especially for those seeking evidence of how a
| computer was used.
`----
http://www.abanet.org/journal/ereport/jy13tkjasn.html
http://news.softpedia.com/news/Forget-about-the-WGA-20-Windows-Vista-Features-and-Services-Harvest-User-Data-for-Microsoft-58752.shtml
Microsoft patents the mother of all adware systems
,----[ Quote ]
| The adware framework would leave almost no data untouched in its quest to
| sell you stuff. It would inspect "user document files, user e-mail files,
| user music files, downloaded podcasts, computer settings, computer status
| messages (e.g., a low memory status or low printer ink)," and more. How could
| we have been so blind as to not see the marketing value in computer status
| messages?
`----
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20070717-microsoft-patents-the-mother-of-all-adware-systems.html
Will Microsoft Put The Colonel in the Kernel?
,----[ Quote ]
| "The kernel meets The Colonel in a just-published Microsoft patent
| application for an Advertising Services Architecture, which delivers targeted
| advertising as 'part of the OS.'
`----
http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=07/07/14/043200
New software can identify you from your online habits
,----[ Quote ]
| That is the spectre raised by new research conducted by Microsoft.
| The computing giant is developing software that could accurately
| guess your name, age, gender and potentially even your location,
| by analysing telltale patterns in your web browsing history. But
| experts say the idea is a clear threat to privacy - and may be
| illegal in some places.
`----
http://www.newscientisttech.com/article.ns?id=mg19426046.400&feedId=being-human_rss20
http://tinyurl.com/2lrazk
Microsoft Responds to Re-discovery of Vista Network Slowdowns
http://www.betanews.com/article/Microsoft_Responds_to_Rediscovery_of_Vista_Network_Slowdowns/1188244273
Yahoo in China human rights case
,----[ Quote ]
| A human rights group in the US is suing Yahoo for alleged complicity in
| rights abuses and acts of torture in China.
`----
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/6966116.stm
Chinese Internet dissident committed to mental hospital
,----[ Quote ]
| "It is not acceptable that Chinese authorities use such methods to silence
| citizens who have merely peacefully voiced their opinions", expressed the
| organisation in an announcement. Apparently authorities have not abandoned
| the practice of punishing those who have exposed the abuse of power and
| defied censorship by compulsorily committing them to mental institutions.
`----
http://www.heise.de/english/newsticker/news/94864/from/rss09
Microsoft could be teaching police to hack Vista
,----[ Quote ]
| Microsoft may begin training the police in ways to break the
| encryption built into its forthcoming Vista operating system.
`----
http://www.vnunet.com/vnunet/news/2150555/microsoft-teaching-police-hack
UK holds Microsoft security talks
,----[ Quote ]
| "UK officials are talking to Microsoft over fears the new version of
| Windows could make it harder for police to read suspects' computer files."
`----
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/4713018.stm
|
|
