internet

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Indiana Man Charged With 'Sextortion'

Richard Finkbiner befriended teenage boys online: FBI

(Newser) - The FBI has arrested an Indiana man who allegedly blackmailed 14-year-old boys into uploading sexually explicit images and videos of themselves, MSNBC reports. According to chilling court documents, Richard Leon Finkbiner, 39, befriended the boys online and enticed them into uploading the explicit material. He then threatened to show it...

Anonymous Shuts Down Chinese Government Sites

Hackers punish officials for Internet crackdowns

(Newser) - Anonymous hackers are boasting that they shut down Chinese government web sites. A number of government sites were still not working today, and marked with error messages as officials scramble to get sites back up, reports AP . A message from Anonymous on one of the hacked sites indicated the Chinese...

Al-Qaeda Websites Oddly Go Dark for 11 Days

Ex-State Department official: 'It looks like a takedown'

(Newser) - Al-Qaeda's most popular web forums have gone dark for 11 days now in what experts are calling a likely cyber attack, the Washington Post reports. "It sure looks like a takedown," said a former State Department official. If website administrators were dealing with mere technical glitches, they...

Forget TV Ads: Romney Hunts Supporters Online

And they are largely quiz-taking, photo-sharing home repair fans

(Newser) - Likely voters are watching live TV less and less, and political campaigns are responding with aggressive online tactics in what could be "the first truly digital election," says an analyst. Mitt Romney is looking for the right Internet audience to target his ads—but rather than pursuing advertisements...

Internet Protectors Brace for Anonymous Attack

Today's the day, though the betting is nothing will happen

(Newser) - If the Internet today reverts back to speeds of the dial-up days, there might be an explanation: Last month, Anonymous threatened to go after its backbone, the Domain Name System, on March 31, reports the New York Times . It's probably a safe bet that nothing much will happen, but...

FTC to Ad Firms: Get a Real 'Do Not Track' Option Online

Consumers need to be able to opt out of being monitored, watchdog says

(Newser) - When consumers say they don't want their online activity monitored by companies mining data out of their every click they mean it, the Federal Trade Commission warned yesterday. The consumer protection agency said that if technology and advertising companies can't voluntarily create an effective and easy to use...

Awful SXSW Idea: Turning Homeless Into 4G Hotspots

Bloggers cringe at marketing company plan

(Newser) - A plan to turn homeless people into 4G hotspots has digitalphiles at the SXSW Interactive Conference in Austin crying "exploitive" and "dystopian." In a nutshell, a marketing company wants homeless people to carry MiFi devices that would enable passersby to get online when their carrier service won'...

New Meme Gets Kick Out of Jolie 'Leg Bombing'

Angelina gam busting out all over Internet

(Newser) - No one can quite shake the image of Angelina Jolie obsessively flashing her toned right leg from the slit up her dress at the Oscars. So what to do? Turn to the new "leg bombing" meme that's a runaway hit with Internet fans. The burgeoning meme has Angelina'...

Experts Find Key Internet Encryption Flaw

Small but significant number of cases vulnerable

(Newser) - Oops. Now that millions of people have downloaded encrypted information like credit card and bank account numbers onto the Internet, a team of mathematicians and cryptographers have located a crucial flaw in online encryption. The flaw concerns the way the system generates random numbers to create a code critical to...

Automakers Pushing 'Connected' Cars

Gizmos proliferate amid concerns on distracted driving

(Newser) - Imagine cruising down the highway at 65mph while checking tweets, buying movie tickets online, or booking reservations at a restaurant. This scenario is the not-too-distant future of driving, reports the Wall Street Journal , as auto manufacturers seek to design an innovative "connected car" full of Internet-accessible gadgetry. The push...

‘Charlie Bit My Finger' Video Still Churning a Profit

2007 viral sensation now at 417M views, and family is cashing in

(Newser) - The 2007 web video "Charlie Bit My Finger" has been viewed 417.6 million times and is now the most-watched noncommercial video in YouTube history, reports the New York Times . The newspaper checks in on the UK family that became inadvertent digital-age stars and finds that brothers Harry, now...

Hacked Home Security Cams Link to Bedroom Scenes

Web users accessing Trendnet cams without passwords

(Newser) - Feeds from an extensive network of home security cameras have been breached, and videos, including scenes from children's bedrooms, are being watched and linked to online. "Someone caught a guy getting naked in Denmark," noted one blogger. Another remarked: "Baby spotted. I feel like a pedophile...

Google, Facebook Yank Content as India Cracks Down

Court threatens to come down on firms 'like China'

(Newser) - A strongly-worded directive from an Indian court, threatening to crack down on websites "like China," has pushed Google and Facebook to bar some content on Indian domains, Reuters reports. Some 19 other companies have also been asked to block material considered offensive to Hindus, Muslims, and Christians following...

Hackers Hit Internet Giant VeriSign

Firm is responsible for delivering people to more than half of all websites

(Newser) - Hackers managed to break into the servers of a crucial web company responsible for delivering users to more than half the websites in the world. VeriSign doesn't believe the attackers infiltrated its Domain Name System network—which is responsible for directing traffic to .com, .net, and .gov addresses on...

SOPA Protest Hails Web's 'Coming of Age'

Protesting websites' message clicked with users

(Newser) - Yesterday, we witnessed the power of the Internet to influence policy, as countless websites went dark to protest SOPA and PIPA. It did the job: Congress faced an onslaught of complaints about the controversial online piracy measures—which were born of traditional lobbying and heavy corporate spending, writes James Temple...

OPEN Act Emerges as SOPA, PIPA Take a Beating

Senators desert PIPA amid public backlash

(Newser) - The public backlash and Internet protest yesterday made the SOPA and PIPA anti-piracy bills look a lot like a sinking ship—one many lawmakers decided not to go down with. Sen. Marco Rubio dropped his support for the PIPA bill he co-sponsored and he was joined by 17 others, including...

Marco Rubio Drops PIPA Sponsorship

Says he's worried about unintended consequences

(Newser) - Internet, you have been heard—by a couple of influential senators at least. Marco Rubio says he's dropping his support of the Protect Intellectual Property Act, of which he is a co-sponsor, Politico reports. In a Facebook post , the Florida senator says he's heard "legitimate concerns about...

Websites Go Dark to Protest SOPA

Thousands of sites join strike

(Newser) - Even the LOLcats are going on strike. The "Cheezburger Network" is among an estimated 7,000 websites shutting down today to protest two Internet-regulation bills making their way through Congress, the Washington Post reports. Wikipedia went dark at midnight Eastern time and was soon joined by Reddit, Raw Story,...

White House on SOPA: Don't Hurt 'Dynamic' Web

Meanwhile, House author offers new concession

(Newser) - The White House waded into the politically volatile territory of SOPA today, notes the Hill , and it sounds a little wary about the anti-piracy legislation. "While we believe that online piracy by foreign websites is a serious problem that requires a serious legislative response, we will not support legislation...

SOPA Author: 'I Don't Mind Taking That On'

Lamar Smith seems unfazed by powerful opponents to piracy bill

(Newser) - Rep. Lamar Smith, author of the fiercely controversial Stop Online Piracy Act, doesn't sound like he's bothered much by the heated opposition from e-powerhouses such as Facebook, Google, Reddit, and Twitter. "It is amazing to me that the opponents apparently don't want to protect American consumers...

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