PC Tools Warn ID Fraud Kits Now Available on eBay

Online auction site, eBay, is unwittingly selling software that is used to hack eBay user accounts and steal personal information, according to research from online security experts PC Tools.

A number of software items for sale on the world's leading online auction site contain a variety of programs including keyloggers, trojans and other malware making devices that are aimed at helping users hack computers, websites and even individual user accounts.

"Despite eBay's excellent reputation for ensuring that it protects both consumer safety and privacy, it's almost impossible to police every item," said Mike Greene, VP Product Strategy at online security experts PC Tools.

"I am certain that the sale of this sort of software on eBay comes as a surprise to most, but the success eBay has also meant that the world's leading online auction site can also attract the wrong kind of attention," said Greene.

"It is ironic that something intended ultimately to steal a consumer's identification and financial information is being sold via what is one of the world's number one targets for the ID theft," said Greene.

Source: http://www.pctools.com/

One in Four Teens Admit to Cyberbullying

New research suggests that 27% of teenagers are cyberbullies and 6% harass or bully others online frequently. The authors conclude that innovative approaches are needed to reduce the occurrence of Internet harassment and cyberbullying.

The research, conducted by the University of New Hampshire's Crimes against Children Research Center, was published in the Journal of Adolescent Health. The conclusions were based on interviews with 1500 young people ages 10 to 17 across the nation.

The study found that many youth involved in cyberbullying have poor relationships with their parents. As such, efforts aimed directly at teenagers are needed. Dr. Michele Ybarra, the principal author of the study and top researcher in the field, explains, "Youth who harass others online are twice as likely to have conflict with their parents. It's important to involve parents in Internet safety efforts, but it's important also to engage teenagers."

Dr. Ybarra has been involved in research about Internet harassment since its emergence in 2000. As a researcher, she examines the data clinically and dispassionately. Nonetheless, she was unable to ignore the pain that teens involved in Internet harassment are experiencing that is emerging through the statistics, she says. "For some young people," Dr. Ybarra explains, "Internet harassment and cyberbullying can be a very disturbing experience."

What has resulted is http://www.cyberbully411.org/, a web site developed by Dr. Ybarra for teens involved in Internet harassment. This site provides an informed-by- research roadmap to thwarting teen cyberbullying. "While there are many sites out there that talk about cyberbullying, none of them speak to teens. To truly make an impact on this teen-perpetrated victimization, we decided to design a web site that is fresh and exciting for teens, but also accurate and research based," Dr. Ybarra describes.

Explosive growth of Internet use among young people has been mirrored by increasing awareness of its potential positive and negative impact on them. Recently, public concern has focused on accounts of children and teenagers being sexually solicited and harassed on social networking sites. Some politicians and lawmakers are advocating measures to restrict children and teenagers' access to these sites as a means of preventing sexual exploitation of young Internet users. "What is more important than restricting sites," Dr. Ybarra urges, "is for parents to be involved in their children's lives. Do you know where your child goes and who your child is with when they're online?"

How To Avoid Copyright Infringement

by Brian Scott, ResearchCopyright.com

Copyright infringement is not an easy thing to explain. While it may seem as simple as not using someone else's work, it's not that easy. Thanks to the Electronic Frontier Foundation, and many other organizations, we have the ability to use others' works -- as long as we use it under Fair Use laws. So what does Fair Use have to do with copyright infringement, and how can you utilize it?

Fair Use laws allow us to use a copyrighted work without having to pay someone royalties. This includes using a copyrighted work for educational or instructional uses, criticism of the work, commentaries on the work, news reporting about the work, teaching on the work (including multiple copies for classroom use), scholarship uses, and research. This is talked about fully in Section 107 of the Copyright Code (commonly called Fair Use) and is available for you to read at your local library.

Copyright Infringement in day-to-day life

Sometimes, if you’re writing a paper for work or school, or if you are creating a Power Point presentation, you need to use someone’s work that is already in copyright. So how do you use it without committing copyright infringement? All you have to do is ask -- the worst they can say is no, right? But, if they do say no, there are several items in the public domain which may help you to finish your project without having to commit copyright infringement.

What is the public domain, and how does it relate to copyright infringement?

Material that is not copyrighted is considered in the public domain. You cannot commit copyright infringement on works in the public domain. These works include things that the copyright has expired on, or is not copyrightable -- such as government publications, jokes, titles, and ideas. Some creators (writers, musicians, artists, and more) deliberately put their work in the public domain, without ever obtaining copyright, by providing an affiliation with Creative Commons. Creative Commons allows people who create materials to forfeit some, or all, of their copyright rights and place their work either partially or fully in the public domain.

So, how do I ensure I’m not committing copyright infringement?

First of all, if you’re going to use someone else’s material, you may want to check the public domain to see if something is suitable for use, instead of trying to use someone else’s copyright. However, if you can’t find something suitable (and you can’t create something yourself), the next best thing (and your only legal course of action) is to find a piece that is in copyright, and contacting the copyright holder.

When you contact the copyright holder, make sure you tell them what you want to use their piece for -- whether it’s for your blog, podcast, or report -- and ask if you can use it. You may have to pay royalties, or an attribution in your piece, or a combination of both. The creator may also place many limitations on when and how you can use their material. Follow all these instructions they give you, and you’ll be free and clear to use their work as you want.

Once you have permission to use a copyrighted work, you need to make sure you stay within the agreed-upon boundaries. If you veer outside their agreed terms, you may open yourself up for a copyright infringement lawsuit, which can be nasty, costly, and time consuming. If you’re in doubt, before contacting the copyright holder, contact a copyright lawyer to ensure you’re following the law -- and protect yourself!

QUESTION: If you hear a great new band, and then download a song from MySpace, is that legal or not?

ANSWER: The events of copyright infringement are not only limited by Kazaa, Morpheus, or some other file sharing peer to peer (P2P) service. If you download a song -- no matter if you’re on a website or a MySpace page -- and it isn’t coming from the artist themselves, you may want to think about downloading it. Chances are, if it’s not coming from them, you can’t have it -- unless it is under a Creative Commons License. Creative Commons gives the exact ways in which you can use the license -- and many times those are completely free and legal to download, so make sure you check if it’s under a CC License.

QUESTION: If I’m writing a paper, or article, and I want to quote another website, can I?
ANSWER: First of all, did you know the minute you write or create something, you hold the copyright to it? ESPECIALLY if you’re writing it online -- it’s very easy to track things on the Internet. So, if you’re writing a blog, all the things you’ve written (no matter good or bad) are recorded, thanks to Archive.org, which lets you review last versions of your web pages.

ANSWER: Sometimes, we can use someone else’s work in our own, and think we’re small and anonymous. That no one will notice by the time you get it down -- you’re just “borrowing” it. Before you begin quoting anyone’s website -- from CNN to your local neighborhood hardware store -- you need to ask the person who holds the copyright if you can. Usually, they’ll let you if you attribute to them. Depending who you talk to, you’ll either have to pay royalties or license rights to republish. If you don’t ask before you quote, you’re beginning the events of copyright infringement and you are opening yourself up for a lawsuit.

Three Charged with Pirated DVD's

Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) and the York Regional Police Service have charged three Markham area residents with creating, possessing and selling pirated DVD movies. Yesterday, the RCMP Greater Toronto Area Federal Enforcement Section and members of the York Regional Police searched eight stores at the Pacific Mall in Markham and two retail outlets and a storage unit in the Dynasty Mall in Toronto. Several employees found to be selling pirated copies of Chinese and English feature films and TV series were arrested. A vehicle and two residences were also searched.

Police are alleging the accused unlawfully recorded and burned DVD's. In excess of 15,000 DVD's were seized during the searches yesterday. Some of the movies found were "Superbad", "Bourne Ultimatum", "Surf's Up" and "Rush Hour 3" - movies which are currently running in local cinemas. Also seized were 65 DVD burners located in one of the residences.

Charged under the Copyright Act are:

- Yannie SIU, age 26 of Markham, Ontario
- You Jie WU, age 37 of Markham, Ontario
- Yu WANG 23 yrs old, Markham, Ont.

"There are legitimate businesses within these malls who are losing business and having difficulty staying solvent because of these pirated DVD's," stated Inspector Peter Goulet, Officer in Charge of the RCMP Federal Enforcement Section.

"This was a sophisticated criminal operation that netted these individuals huge profits" said Chief Armand La Barge. "We are pleased to work with our colleagues from the RCMP to ensure individuals running these illegal operations are brought to justice."

Several of the accused will be appearing in Newmarket Court today for a bail hearing.

Relying on the Credit Freeze Alone for Identity Theft Protection is Very Unwise

Recent reports from several sources claiming the "credit freeze" provides seamless protection against identity theft are misleading to consumers. Unfortunately, some reports have come from well-meaning consumer-oriented watchdog groups, as well as unscrupulous purveyors of overblown identity theft protection and credit monitoring services.

Working to identify and correct unsubstantiated or erroneous claims about preventing identity theft is the Institute of Consumer Financial Education (ICFE), a San Diego-based, award-winning public education organization with a specialized identity theft risk management certification program.

"Whether you do it yourself or pay another, placing a credit freeze on your credit record does not make you bulletproof or invisible to identity thieves. The credit freeze is only one useful tool in a set available to most consumers to lower the risk of identity theft and it should be employed only in combination with other proven means of dealing with the entire spectrum of identity theft and identity fraud," said Yan Ross, Project Manager for ICFE Certified Identity Theft Risk Management Specialist (CITRMS).

ICFE cites the following:

(1) According to FTC statistics, a significant portion (in some states, nearly 50%) of reported identity theft cases are types that do not appear in the credit report of the victim – such as employment fraud, medical benefit fraud, non-financial criminal usage, and government benefit fraud. A pending United States Senate investigation even suggests that refunds on bogus tax claims are costing the innocent victims copious amounts of both time and money.

(2) The false sense of security a consumer may have, based on buying credit monitoring services or imposing a credit freeze, may result in failure to take other steps to prevent or mitigate damage from other types of identity theft.

(3) Unless there is demonstrated ability by an identity theft solution provider to assist a covered victim with on-going professional resolution services, paying for a credit freeze or monitoring is simply not an effective means of protection.

ICFE is a major participant in the fight against identity theft and is an active member of the Identity Theft Standards Panel, a joint initiative sponsored by the American National Standards Institute and the Better Business Bureau, calling for establishment of uniform standards for the creation, transmission, and maintenance of sensitive consumer information.

ICFE has developed a certified course in Identity Theft Risk Management (CITRMS); which has been accredited for up to 30 hours of continuing education credit by the governing bodies of numerous professional disciplines. Participants are trained to take preventive steps to avoid becoming victims of identity theft, and to also help consumers and small businesses manage this risk.

More information is available online at http://www.icfe.info/

Lulu Enterprises Files Suit Against Hulu for Trademark Infringement

Lulu Enterprises (http://www.lulu.com/) has filed suit against N-F Newsite LLC ("Hulu") for trademark infringement, unfair and deceptive trade practices and for federal cyberpiracy.

In the complaint, filed in US District Court in Raleigh, NC, Lulu alleges that Hulu (http://www.hulu.com/), as a result of their recent name and Internet domain announcements, have intentionally attempted to create confusion in the marketplace. Hulu, in name, as a mark and in their business as a digital content distribution platform, represents a definitive encroachment.

In addition to the conflict in business for digital video, Hulu's trademark filing, filed on August 22, 2007, identifies various products and services, many of which are related to, and even identical to, the services that Lulu provides under its Lulu marks.

"We have spent more than five years and tens of millions of dollars in investment successfully building the Lulu brand and website into a place for millions of creators and consumers to publish, buy, sell and manage digital content," said Lulu CEO Bob Young. "It is clear we are required to move quickly to protect our intellectual property and defend ourselves against this infringement before it significantly damages our business."

Spam Containing Link to Fake US Soldier’s Blog in Iraq Spreads Trojan

SPAMfighter Consumer Alert -- E-mail users are now getting, what looks like, a chance to view a soldier's blog on his experiences in Iraq. Users are encouraged to click on a link in order to read what the US soldier has experienced. However, the link in this e-mail connects the e-mail user to a fake blog that appears legitimate, and without their knowledge, two Trojans are installed into their computer. SPAMfighter products have already stopped this threat for all 3.8 + million of their members.

"Spammers and virus creators try to lure e-mail users in by using very intriguing topics that many people would be likely to click on. It is very important e-mail users never click on a link in an e-mail unless it is from a known sender," comments Managing Director of SPAMfighter North America Alix Aranza.

The spam mail encourages users to go to see the blog of a group of Soldiers in Iraq. The site users are taken to a virus website that looks legitimate and extremely real as the creators of this website have reused legitimate pictures from other real blog sites, as well as videos from YouTube.

The spam mail encourages users to forward this website on to their friends as well. Because the site looks legitimate, users are more inclined to forward it, thereby infecting other computer users without the virus creators having to do anything. This mail will be filtered for all SPAMfighter users. Download a free trial of SPAMfighter at http://www.spamfighter.com/.

When a computer user arrives at the website, two Trojans are installed. These Trojans are called W32/Exploit.Gen and RIFF/Ani_exploit.gen. Both of these Trojans can be removed with VIRUSfighter. VIRUSfighter can be downloaded free here: http://www.virusfighter.com/

E-mail users are reminded to remain alert, and use caution when opening links, or files. Computer users are also highly recommended to have an updated security system with anti-spam and anti-virus programs.