Researchers at Harvard Law School and Oxford University are launching a Web site that will identify organizations that distribute spyware, adware, and other unwanted computer programs, as well as the tactics they employ to intall their applications. StopBadware.org was financed initially by companies including Google, Lenovo, and Sun Microsystems.
The site will also include an area […]

A laptop containing information on 230,000 individuals was stolen from the car of an employee of Ameriprise Financial in December, according to the company. The computer included names and Social Security numbers for more than 70,000 financial advisors, and names and Ameriprise account numbers for 158,000 customers of the firm, which was spun off of […]

In an effort to avoid a stiff fine issued by the European Commission, Microsoft has agreed to license some of its source code. European antitrust regulators have found Microsoft guilty of abusing its monopoly power and have insisted on changes to the company’s practices to address the violations, including offering a version of its operating […]

The State of Washington and Microsoft have filed separate lawsuits against Secure Computer, a company they accuse of running a bogus antispyware racket. According to the complaints, Secure Computer used pop-up ads and other tools to tell computer users that their computers were infected with spyware and to offer a service, Spyware Cleaner, that would […]

A group of libraries and publishers are cooperating on a pilot project to ensure access to online journals. Libraries at five universities, as well as the New York Public Library, will work with nine publishers on an archive that will consist of copies of journal articles from participating publishers stored on 10 servers at the […]

A California man has pleaded guilty to using computer “bots” to surreptitiously take control of 400,000 computers, which were used to distribute adware, spyware, and other unwanted computer code. Jeanson James Ancheta, 20, admitted to earning more than $60,000 from using the illicit system of computers and renting the system to others who used them […]

Google will launch search and news sites in China this week that will block access to information the Chinese government considers objectionable. Chinese officials have a long track record of censoring speech and ideas, and, according to Andrew McLaughlin, senior policy counsel for Google, the new sites “will comply with local Chinese laws and regulations.” […]

A new company called Tello Corp. will begin offering a new voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) service that its founders hope will alter user expectations about what the technology can do. Jeff Pulver, one of the people behind Tello, said VoIP is primarily used today simply to make inexpensive phone calls. VoIP has the potential […]

Yahoo has announced plans to expand its stable of research centers outside the United States, with new facilities in Spain and Chile added to the four U.S. locations. Ricardo Baeza-Yates, a native of Chile who has worked with universities in Santiago and in Barcelona, will head the new research centers. Baeza-Yates authored “Modern Information Retrieval,” […]

A group of students at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst are demanding that the operators of the now-shuttered i2hub pay for their settlements with the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).
According to Lisa Kent, an attorney at the university’s Student Legal Services Office, which is representing the 42 students, i2hub deceived students into believing […]