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Poland targeted by hackers after Ukraine cyberattack

Poland targeted by hackers after Ukraine cyberattack

Poland has raised its cybersecurity terrorist threat level after Ukraine suffered a major hack last week that took down several government websites. Poland’s Digital Ministry said yesterday that as of January 23, the country is currently at the lowest of the four potential terrorist threat levels for cybersecurity.

The Office of the Polish Prime Minister notes that during the attack, access to the Ukrainian platform “Diya” was disabled. Ukrainian officials told reporter Kim Zetter that dozens of systems at least two government offices were destroyed in a cyberattack last week. U.S. President Joe Biden reacted strongly to reports of a wide-ranging porn yberattack on Ukraine’s government systems. On Wednesday afternoon, the president told reporters that the U.S. would retaliate with cyberattacks if Russia attacked Ukraine’s digital infrastructure.

Last week, a cyberattack urged Ukrainians to “fear and expect the worst” as the country braces for a possible new military offensive from neighboring Russia. Recent attacks in Ukraine highlight the danger of cyber raids at the border, as the U.S. government warns all U.S. organizations, from small businesses to corporations and municipal governments, of a possible Russian retaliatory response to U.S. actions abroad. The cyberattack in Ukraine urged citizens to “fear and expect the worst” as the country fears a possible new military offensive from Russia.

Ukraine under a cyberattack with a Russian trace | Euromaidan Press

According to the Washington Post, Russia has deployed more than 100,000 troops to the border with Ukraine.

According to Reuters, Ukrainian officials said nearly 70 government facilities were attacked, including the Security and Defense Council, the Cabinet of Ministers, and several ministries. On Saturday, dozens of computers linked to the Ukrainian government were infected with malware, rendering systems unusable.

The provincial government said an investigation into the case found that an unauthorized third party had access to the documents. However, it is still unclear whether the website defacement and the attacks on the wipers happened simultaneously. Due to security concerns, the Polish government did not disclose which cyberattack hit Polish institutions based in Ukraine in recent weeks. However, Cieszynski added that no such hacker attacks had happened in Poland as of Wednesday.

A Ukrainian security official attributed the attack to a Belarusian intelligence group. Deputy Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine Serhiy Demedyuk told Reuters that a hacker linked to the Belarusian government, UNC1151, was behind the malware attack. Sergei Demedyuk, deputy secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, told Reuters that UNC1151, a hacker linked to Belarusian authorities, was behind the malware attack.

Massive' Cyberattack Hits Ukraine Government Websites - The Moscow Times

European countries are not the only ones affected

The Saskatchewan government is reporting to the Saskatchewan Alcohol and Gambling Authority (SLGA) the risk of a Christmas cyberattack leading to the leakage of employee personal information. Independent cybersecurity experts have helped the regulator recover from the incident. Its distribution center has returned to its entire operations. At the same time, the U.S. government also warned companies to be wary of digital traffic from Ukraine and attacks from Russia.

The two documents, released this week, following a series of cyberattacks in Ukraine allegedly carried out by Russia, suggest the same attack could also threaten U.S. systems. The White House national security memorandum signed today contains recommendations similar to those in the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) memo released yesterday. The agency said the recent malware attack in Ukraine underscores the “implications for the potential for damage to critical infrastructure.” In the U.S.,

US charges Russians with cyberattacks on Ukraine, French elections, Olympics

The White House memorandum released today builds on an executive order signed last year to strengthen cybersecurity for the federal government. At the same time, the current administration has identified cybersecurity as a high domestic and international priority, the memo this week. The release highlights the vulnerabilities of many critical networks.

The alert level, which will be in effect until the end of Sunday, comes after about 70 Ukrainian government websites, including several ministries, were hit by a large-scale cyberattack. In addition, a notification in Ukrainian, Russian and Polish порно laptop screens appeared on the official website of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry after the massive cyber attack.

The Ukrainian National Cybersecurity Focal Point has referred to the recent attacks as “Operation Blood Bear.”

It notes that some of the detected malware appears to be similar to other malware used in the massive attacks in 2017 that hit Ukraine stronger than in any other country.

Security researchers say they have found spyware from the notorious hacking firm NSO Group on the phones of two prominent Polish opposition figures. On Thursday, Citizen Lab, in partnership with the Associated Press, reported that between April 26, 2019, and October 23, 2019, Polish senator Krzysztof Brejza was hacked 33 times by NSO Group’s Pegasus spyware. In both cases, the attackers were military-grade spyware. In addition, digital investigators from Citizen Lab, which monitors the Internet at the University of Toronto, said the U.S. government recently blacklisted the Israeli recruiting group from NSO Group.

Citizen Lab cannot tell who ordered the hack. The NSO does not identify its customers other than that it only works with legitimate government agencies. Polish state security spokesman Stanislav Zarin neither confirmed nor denied that the government ordered the hacks or is NSO’s customer. In 2019, independent Polish broadcaster TVN uncovered evidence that the government’s anti-corruption agency had spent more than $8 million on phone spyware.

According to Citizen Lab, Pegasus was also used to hack into the phones of Polish prosecutors Eva Wrzosek and Roman Gertich, a lawyer for Braze’s Civic Platform Party. Both have joined the list of government critics worldwide whose phones have suffered interceptions using the company’s Pegasus product.

A global media consortium investigation found that Hungary used Pegasus to hack at least ten lawyers, an opposition politician, and several journalists.

According to Citizen Lab, Gertich was hacked at least 18 times in the last four months of 2019. Last year, anti-corruption officials ransacked Gertich’s home and office in a manner that a Polish court found illegal. The E.U. described how the Polish government is hostile to minded lawyers in politically sensitive cases as symbolic.

Gertich represented Sikorsky in a case of illegal wiretapping. Conversations of former foreign ministers were recorded and published; Sikorski claims that the government did not investigate the possible involvement of Kaczynski’s allies. At the time, Gertich represented an Austrian property developer who claimed that Kaczynski attacked him. Poland’s most powerful politician strangled him when a deal to build two commercial towers in Warsaw collapsed.

Two years later, a prosecutor who defied the right-wing populist government’s attempts to purge the judiciary had his smartphone hacked. An outspoken member of the independent prosecutors union, Vrzosek learned that he had been hacked and tweeted about it. Last month, Apple sent out a notification to dozens of NSo-victimized iPhone users worldwide, including 11 employees of the U.S. State Department.

Polish politicians hit by 'large-scale' cyberattack, Russia blamed –  POLITICO

Hacking their phones is the first two confirmed cases of military-grade Pegasus spyware used against targets in Poland.

Nevertheless, the news of the hack in Poland is especially noteworthy, as human rights groups are calling on the 27-nation European Union to tighten export restrictions on spyware. For example, Pegasus spyware has links to Hungary, condemned for undemocratic abuses like Poland.

Confirmed victims include Mexican and Saudi journalists, British lawyers, Palestinian human rights activists, U.S. heads of state, and diplomats living in Uganda. In July, Project Pegasus discovered spyware on the phones of at least 65 corporate executives. Based on evidence from Amnesty International, Citizen Czateria Lab, and Forbidden Stories, 85 human rights activists, 189 journalists, and 600 politicians were also affected. In addition, an Israeli spy agency used the program to hack into the phones of six Palestinian human rights activists.

However, Citizen Lab and Amnesty International researchers say the NSO appears to be maintaining the infection infrastructure. Last month, a spokesman for Hungary’s ruling party acknowledged that the government had acquired Pegasus licenses.

In 2019, Polish independent broadcaster TVN found evidence that government anti-corruption agencies spent more than $8 million on phone spyware. However, Polish national security spokesman Stanislav Zarin neither confirmed nor denied that the government ordered the hack or was a client of NSO.

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Gollum Fired from Hobbit Movie

Gollum Fired from Hobbit Movie
Gollum Fired from Hobbit Movie

Gollum, one of the stars of movie director Peter Jackson’s epic Lord of the Rings trilogy, has been dramatically sacked from the cast of The Hobbit. With filming due to begin next month in New Zealand on the eagerly-awaited prequel, which centres on the adventures of hairy-footed hobbit Bilbo Baggins, cast and crew have been stunned by the dismissal xvideo which has also caused a massive rift in the Smeagol family.

Sources close to Jackson say Gollum has become untrustworthy and has made excessive contractual demands – and these have priced him out of a job. And in it what has rubbed even more salt into Smeagol’s wounds, his part is to be taken by an unemployed Scottish cousin, Gallus McSmeagol, who bears an uncanny resemblance to the star.

But that decision youporn has infuriated Gollum who has now cut off all ties with his relatives in Scotland and launched legal action to protect his ‘intellectual copyright’ on the JRR Tolkien character. Voice coach Sefton Delmer is already working with McSmeagol in a bid to iron out the gutteral nasal twang of the Scot while an intense effort is being made to ensure the stand-in’s mannerisms and movements are as close as possible to the audience’s expectations from the first pornochacha three blockbusters.

“Gallus is working hard and is determined to succeed,” said Delmer. “Computer technology will ensure the character will remain familiar to his character’s fans but, obviously, his personality is different and that will shine through. “We don’t see that redtube being a major problem though as The Hobbit is set many years before the time of The Fellowship of the Ring when Gollum was much younger. Just as Bilbo will need to have different characteristics, then so will Smeagol, We are confident the audience will understand that.”

McSmeagol was reluctant to comment on the family feud which has resulted from his taking over the part but did say: “This is Gallus’ part, Gallus likes this part, Gollum took away Gallus’ part but now it is mine.” Gollum was unavailable at his Los Angeles home of porno mexicano yesterday but his agent, Thomas Covenant, confirmed that a civil action was being raised against Jackson and legal advice being taken on McSmeagol’s intention to ‘mimic’ his cousin’s style.

“This is an unfortunate incident which has divided a very close family,” he added. “Gollum will be taking every measure he can to ensure this reaches a satisfactory conclusion for all concerned – himself, the cast, the crew, the legacy of Tolkien and his cousin.”
Citiraya officially opens CRT recycling centre (21.01.05)
Electrical waste recycler Citiraya Recycling Technology Ltd opened a new Cathode Ray Tube (CRT) recycling plant yesterday which will use the latest laser technology.

The plant, in Hirwaun, Wales was opened by Alby Davies, mayor of Rhondda Cynon Taff county borough council, Ray Chaney, European Vice President for Citiraya and Tom Meney, the company’s vice president for marketing. Citiraya’s plant will be using laser technology from technology producer Proventia. The Finnish company have only supplied this equipment to three sites world wide, one in Germany and a second UK site based in Perth, Scotland.

Over 50% of the CRT is made up of glass so Citiraya wanted to ensure that it retrieved as much of the glass as possible. According to Citiraya project manager Jim McDowall the technology allows Citiraya to recover almost all of the glass from a CRT. The glass is sent to recyclers in the UK and Europe from the Czech Republic, Lithuania, Germany and a local company in Cardiff. He said: “Obviously there will be small fragments that will be lost during the cleaning process but this is a very small percentage of the glass included, the rest is recycled.”

There is the potential for this final percentage of glass to be recycled. The company collects the dust fragments during the process. These can be sorted and the glass fragments removed and collected with the rest of the glass. Mr Meney said: “Once this site is completely up and running we will be looking to make small improvements where needed. One of those changes will be looking into the sorting of the dust fragments.”

Second phase
Currently the plant has one CRT recycling line but a second is set to be installed in mid 2005. This will bring the sites capacity up to 500,000 CRTs per annum. Citiraya uses a computer controlled system to ensure that when a delivery is made they can account for the entire batch. The system logs the weight of the delivery when it comes in and the recycled material is weighed at each stage of the process to ensure that what came in goes out again, this includes the pallet.

The company has had a presence in the UK for four years with its site in Irvine, Scotland. The investment in Wales has been backed by the Welsh Assembly Government and the Welsh Development Agency. CRT market
There have been concerns raised by some in the industry that CRT recyclers may have set up too early with companies and local authorities not yet obligated to recycle their Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment. But Citiraya has said that it believes now is the perfect time to open its site.

Mr McDowall said: “A lot of companies know what is going to happen when the WEEE Directive comes in and they are looking for partnerships now. These companies are very pro active and they don’t want to wait until the Directive comes in before setting arranging for their waste to be recycled, that is why we decided to open the plant now rather than wait six months to a year. “According to an ICER report there are 10 million CRTs around in 2005 and plenty of these will be going for recycling. With the WEEE Directive and less space available in hazardous waste sites we believe there will be a huge amount of CRTs that will need to be recycled,” he added.

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Digital Platform on Contemporary Art from

Digital Platform on Contemporary Art from
Digital Platform on Contemporary Art from

Digital Platform on Contemporary Art from/in Portugal between 1993 and 2003 Anamnese (anamnesis) is a project that intends to create an information platform on visual arts in Portugal and on the activity of Portuguese artists in the international context in the second half of the XX century, through a chronology of events during the period from 1993 to 2003.

The fundamental aim of the project is to compensate for the lack in Portugal of a working instrument for researchers cogidas and the public in general that includes the visual and written information produced by the many institutions and private operators who have actively drawn up the profile of a context undergoing real development. Indeed, with the establishing of the institutional framework dedicated to the divulging of contemporary art over the last years, Portugal has come to occupy a position that points towards increasing professionalisation youjizz of the sector, accompanied by a positive quantitative and qualitative impulse of the artistic creation itself that urgently needs to be documented.

Anamnese will perform the role of a mega-archive of the activity of Portuguese institutions and artists, in which the public will be able to find a chronologically organised database. The fundamental extra value of the project comes from the fact that this information is dispersed, difficult to access and, in many cases, has not yet been made available. Anamnese will publish this mass of information, approaching each event from multiple and diverse viewpoints.

The mechanisms of classification and problematisation of a determined event are more and more sophisticated, and in this sense the platform will do justice to a growing public attention to this field. However, as producers of data, both the artists and the pornohub institutions frequently end up neglecting moments and systems of collecting / systematising / contextualising of their activity.

Given the desire to establish an information platform that is useful, innovative and unique in Portugal, we have deliberately opted for a solution that will be supported on the information produced by the various agents involved in the construction of our “arts system”, with the aim of taking advantage of the collective material and intellectual effort carried out, which lesbianas so far has not been accessible to a large number of art lovers.

The originality of the project thus involves the setting up of accessibility to conventionally dispersed sources of information. Indeed, the specific nature of an overall view on a given context comes from the fact that these syntheses are normally the product of research by an author that results in compendia or art history manuals (which are also scarce in Portugal), but which always stand out – and in relation to contemporary production this is even more strikingly true – as subjective views of that reality. The platform being developed is based on the concept of publishing, which serviporno obviously is also carried out through authorship work. Yet, in building up an anthology that intends to be extensive and consistent, we are for the first time providing the interested public with the opportunity to interconnect different narratives on the same issue in one single integrating information base.

This work, which was begun in 2002, has since then been developed and made available for widespread public consultation on the 17th of October 2006. In the meantime it was already possible to consult the sections a-z and 1a+1p+1a, which from the outset were an important tool for the divulging of Portuguese art.

The main section (events 93-03) will continue to be brought up to date with the inclusion of visual and written sources.
In the meantime, the Ilídio Pinho Foundation has guaranteed the continuity of the project in the sense of working on the years since 2003.

Finally, it should be noted that part of this project includes a printed version (Anamnese – the book) that includes the opinion of two hundred and fifty artists about the most relevant exhibitions that took place between 1993 and 2003, and which publishes an anthology of ten texts by critics (Alexandre Melo, Bernardo Pinto de Almeida, Carlos Vidal, Delfim Sardo, Isabel Carlos, João Fernandes, João Pinharanda, Miguel Wandschneider, Óscar Faria and Pedro Lapa) written in the same decade. This publication maintains the structure of the bilingual Portuguese-English site, and also includes biographies of the artists written by José Marmeleira.

The concept of anamnesis, which in its philosophical aspect relates memory and knowledge, here serves as a reference to the concern that has justified the carrying out of this project in its attempt to critically consider the recent past in order for us to be better located in the present.

Miguel von Hafe Pérez Translated from the Portuguese by David Alan Prescott Everdream Named a Finalist for Two SIIA 20th Annual Codie Awards by Demonstrating Leadership in PC Management Services Company Nominated in Best Asset Management and Best Distributed Computing Categories, Heralding Everdream’s Ability to Simplify Computer Management and Secure the Mobile Workforce Fremont, CA (PRWEB) January 24, 2005 — Everdream Corporation, the leading provider of hosted and managed PC services, today announced that its web-based Asset Management Service has been selected by the Software & Information Industry Association (SIIA) as a finalist for both the Best Asset Management Product or Service and the Best Distributed Computing Solution categories.

The Codie Awards showcase the finest companies, products and services in the software and information industry. Each year, Codie Awards judges work to identify the best-of-the-best from hundreds of nominees. Everdream was honored for its outstanding service model, chosen from over 800 products and 600 companies by a rigorous judging panel including software and information industry trade press, technology writers, consultants and subject-matter experts. A list of all of the finalists for 2005, can be found at www.siia.net/codies/2005/finalists.asp “The 20th annual Codie Awards continue the tradition of honoring the best of the software, content and education technology industries,” said Ken Wasch, SIIA President. “When one considers the number of outstanding companies that competed this year, being named a Codie Awards finalist is a significant achievement.”

The Best Asset Management Service Category awards the product or service that best audits and manages software assets across the network environment. Everdream’s Asset Management Service allows IT managers to maintain a comprehensive hardware and software inventory for PC and mobile systems across the organization while performing software license tracking, software distribution and patch management operations. Since Everdream provides not software, but a managed service, customers bypass costly software licenses and server hardware, and the complexity and expense associated with the implementation, integration, and on-going maintenance of disparate tools.

The Best Distributed Computing Solution awards the product or service that best facilitates computing that pulls from various points on the network, across a heterogeneous network or the Internet. Everdream’s hosted and web-based service allows companies to manage multiple networks and remote PCs regardless of their physical or logical location. Through the Everdream Control Center™, a secure, web-hosted management console, administrators can perform and monitor critical IT operations such as network scanning, automated software distribution, automated patch deployment, virus protection, data back-up, and many more tasks. Compared to traditional software tools, Everdream’s managed services allow customers to focus resources on the core competencies of their business. “Being selected a finalist in these two categories is another validation of the increasing acceptance of companies buying services rather than do-it-yourself software,” said Gary Griffiths, CEO and president of Everdream. “More and more executives are asking the question, ‘I know we can do this stuff, by why on earth would we want to?’”

About Everdream
Everdream Corporation is the leading provider of software application services that manage, secure, and support businesses’ PCs, allowing these businesses to focus on their own core competencies. Through the innovative web-hosted Everdream Control Center, customers receive customized services on-demand including hardware and software asset management and life-cycle support, virus protection, data backup and restore, automated software updates and maintenance, patch management and help desk services. Through Everdream’s proprietary, patented technology, customers, whether located on the corporate campus or remote, mobile workers, have access to Everdream’s services, greatly simplifying IT operations while reducing costs and improving service and security. With operational facilities in Fremont, California, Dallas, Texas, and Charlotte, North Carolina, Everdream manages well over 100,000 seats for companies in 60 countries across the globe, including FedEx, ADP, Korean Airlines, Brocade Communications, Salesforce.com, Sonic Automotive, Midas, Sylvan Learning Centers, and many others. Everdream is a registered trademark of Everdream Corporation. All other products and company names herein may be trademarks of their respected owners.

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Web Interface Design ‘Rules of Thumb’ – Basic Conventions

Web Interface Design
Web Interface Design

In this section I lightly cover several site design issues that are commonly adopted as a set of best practices, or ‘Rules of Thumb’. These issues include the following:

World Wide Web Consortium (w3c) Compliance
Cross-Browser, Cross-Platform Compatibility
ADA Issues
Download Time Requirements
Navigation Design
Consistent Fonts
Screen Size Requirements

World Wide Web Consortium (w3c) Compliance
Both the Cascading Style Sheets and the hard-coded and dynamically-generated HTML code should fit within the confines of the W3C HTML 4.0 spec. To ensure solid, error-free code that works on different platforms across different browsers, a good web designer should adhere to this. Details of the w3c’s HTML 4.0 specification can be found at linux-mirror.org

Cross-Browser, Cross-Platform Compatibility
It’s important to note that statistically-speaking, 90 percent of all web page hits come from Netscape Navigator version 4+ and Microsoft Internet Explorer version 4+ browsers. Of that 90 percent, 80 percent of the hits originate from PC’s, 15 percent originate from Apple Macintosh computers, and the rest from other platforms. Even so, every developer should design their interface from the ground up with the aim of making their interfaces cross-browser and cross-platform compatible. This means that every mission-critical aspect of the site should be able to be viewed on a machine running Internet Explorer 4, Internet Explorer 5 and 6, Netscape Navigator 4, Netscape 6, and Mozilla 6, with the interface degrading gracefully as you use earlier browser versions.

ADA Issues
In accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, site designers should aim to provide for the needs of the visually impaired. To help facilitate this, it is important to provide ALT and SIZE attributes for all non-text elements of a site. The benefit of this practice is that it will not only help maintain page layout as it downloads, but that it will also provide feedback to users who are unable to see the graphics. A typical software package used to determine for ADA Compliance is the JAWS 3.3 screen reader for the blind.

Download Time Requirements
An essential ingredient to well-designed sites is efficiency: wherever you can ‘trim the fat’, go for it. Over a 28.8 KBPS modem, the pages hosted by a site should take no longer than eight seconds to load. This is a guiding principle, though the specifics will change as technology evolves. The goal is to allow the average user to access and navigate the site quickly and easily, and this is the “quickly” aspect. To meet these requirements, pages should be no more than 65K in total page weight – including graphics, source files, and applets. The total weight of a page is harder to gauge when dynamic content is used, because only the relevant components of a file are downloaded by the user. Animation tends to be rather large, and can increase the page weight a great deal, so be aware that while a Flash animation may only be tube2K.com, the corresponding GIF may be 50K. Optimizing the graphics used on the page can help a great deal in providing for page efficiency, and tools like Macromedia Fireworks and Adobe Photoshop include built-in utilities that facilitate such tasks.

Navigation Design
A site should have consistency within the same level navigation, and sub-areas must have a look and feel that is consistent with the site as a whole. The user should not have to guess where they are. While look and feel are implicit within web site design, it is crucial that the implementation has the best possible navigation. Fonts, colors, location of logos, and so on should be consistent from area to area within each navigational depth. In addition, to avoid user confusion and disorientation within a site, the site designer should limit the design to a maximum of three navigational depths. This allows a user to become familiar with the unique aspects of the site’s design, which is important because the typical user wants to access a site and retrieve information as quickly and easily as possible. The user doesn’t want to have to guess where within the site he or she is at any given time. The site should allow the user to easily navigate to the area he or she wants to go, and obtain information.

Consistent Fonts
The site must be consistent in its use of fonts. For example, the font used for the body should always be the same, and so should the font that is used for the headings; however the body should not be the same as the headings. The Fonts section in the Page Layout article offers a more complete description of how to achieve this. Remember that tables will ignore the surrounding font information. This challenge is resolved by defining table fonts in the cascading style sheet (CSS), defined in the header and every page, as opposed to defining font tags in every table cell. Using a CSS provides better page efficiency, and allows the site designer to write modular code.

Screen Size Requirements
Every site should fit into a screen 800 pixels wide by 600 pixels high. Realistically this only applies to width, as vertical scrolling is a fact of life for any web user. However an unfavorable site design characteristic is evident if the user has to scroll horizontally to view content. The site designer or webmaster should make sure that all the content within a page can fit into an 800 pixel wide screen without forcing horizontal scrolling. Even though the trend for bigger and better monitor resolution is becoming more evident every day, it is considered a best practice to always design for the lowest common denominator. Take into account when designing your interfaces that the maximum allotted pixels for a fully-expanded browser window on a system running a screen resolution of 800 pixels wide by 600 pixels high, is 744. Sometimes on a small screen with fixed width inside other tables (even percentage widths count here), a table will slide under a graphic and look very odd – so make sure that you account for the presence of graphics. And as much as possible, the site created should also expand to 1600 pixels wide without losing the design. Remember, the browser is your friend – take advantage of its ability to adapt to the user’s environment.

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Meet Dot Com

Meet Dot Com
Meet Dot Com

You’re using new software. You might even have a new hair color. And here I am, a new person in your life to help you along. So it’s a good time to introduce myself.

dot-profileMy name is Dot Com. Yes, it’s my real name. It’s like my eyes are really green. I paid for the green contacts and when I wear them my eyes are really green. I’m an adult and as such I create my own identity (we all do, only most people don’t do it quite as consciously, or self-consciously as I have).

If you want to know the name I was born with youporn, you’ll have to wait until we know each other better; just suffice it to say that no one was named “Dorothy” the year I was born, except a little girl adopted by a couple in the Castro with a thing for Judy Garland. They didn’t name her “Judy” because they thought it might be bad karma, so Dorothy it was, and they gave her a little dog, too.

But I like the name Dot and actually started using it pre-Web because it had such logo possibilities. I started marketing on the web not long after the Web was invented. There’s a lot of hype about the Web, but some of it is true—it’s the first real change in the world’s distribution system since the wheel! That’s pretty amazing. When I realized that I thought, “This is the place for me,” I jumped in and haven’t looked back.

I live just north of San Francisco with my two kids, Paco and Sparkle (yes, that is her real name, it’s a long story). I worked for many years within a large PR firm that handled clients from big software companies to political campaigns. While I love PR (I consider it educational), I became frustrated by the way this company did business (not to mention the people they did business with).

I decided I only wanted to work with companies and clients that I personally believed in, so, once I saw the power of the web, I realized I could go out on my own, which is what I’ve done.

argyPaco (who’s nickname is “Dub” as in “Double-U”, as in “xxx“) is going to art school in San Francisco and is working on a new typeface called “Symph,” which plays a different musical note for each letter of the alphabet (with different keys for italic, bold, and bold italic). With it, people will be able to write a novel and a symphony at the same time. I’m using it now, and the last sentence sounded not unlike Diana Ross’ “Love Child.” Paco (who Sparkle always calls “ChiChi,” another long story I won’t get into lest the over-abundance of names for one person becomes not unlike a Russian play,) shaved his head, looked like a potato with a goatee, and is now growing the hair back and looks like my little Chia Pet.

Sparkle (I know you want to know about the name but she’s made me promise not to tell that story again), is starting a band which she’s named “Slash Slash” (as in “http: slash slash”) and has pierced more places than would think someone could put holes. I’m sure that in a few years they’ll all close up and no one will ever know they were there (to tell the truth, I pierced my nose in the late 60’s long before it was fashionable and now there’s no trace of it or the little diamond-like thing that stuck out of it).

But enough about me. Let’s talk about you… and what you think about me. Just kidding.

Firsts

I know you’ve got a lot to deal with. You’re probably busy with deadlines and don’t really want to spend much time learning something new, but trust me on this, it’s worth spending a little time now to save a lot in a few days. NetObjects Fusion can save you hours a day on stuff that otherwise can really drive you nuts. It also can let you make Web pages that sing.

So let’s start at the beginning. (You’ve seen “The Sound of Music” on TV, so you know it’s a “very good place to start.”)

One of the main reasons I said “yes” when asked to work with NetObjects was because I’d used NetObjects Fusion and thought it was the best thing on the market. OK, I’ll tell the truth, Paco and Sparkle both used it and told me it was the best thing on the market and then I learned it, and agreed.

So the point of all this is that new things can lead to great connections. So come with me as I take you through a little tour of NetObjects Fusion and when it’s done we can talk earrings.

If you´re really busy, at least read this…
SiteSeeing – How Fusion lets you organize and build your site in one easy, logical step. Nothing else works quite like it.
As the Page Turns: What you see is really really what your site visitor gets—no restrictions, no guesswork, no mistakes, no experience necessary. Complete power and control, and the simplest way to connect your database to the web.
Navigate This!:Automatic navigation generation. Navigation built and updated automatically—always accurate and up-to-date. No other program has this feature
The Substance of Style : Professional design, built in. Create attractive sites immediately, no design experience required. Even the most demanding designer can achieve the effects they want.

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The law and the internet

The law and the internet
The law and the internet

In its early days, the internet was described as an information superhighway; a medium that changed the way that information was published, accessed and distributed. In the wake of so much change, it’s unsurprising that it’s taken a while xvideos for the law to catch up, and there are still plenty of legal grey areas remaining online.
It’s important to be aware of how the law views some of the activities that take place online or by email. In this feature, we’ll explain the laws that protect you and those you need to be wary of, as well as looking at websites that will help you deal with the law. In many cases, existing laws apply to online issues, but some new legislation has been introduced to deal redtube with specific offences.

PORNOGRAPHY

While pornography may be a putas morally divisive issue, the law in the UK is very clear. Material that depicts adults in any form of consensual sexual activity is entirely legal. But images that depict persons aged 15 years or younger in such scenarios are treated as child abuse.Similar indecent images of young people between the ages of 16 and 18 can be investigated if it is jovencitas thought that the teenagers in question did not consent, or were in some way vulnerable.
So no matter how distasteful you find some material, there is no point reporting it unless it crosses these boundaries. This also means that you do not need to be concerned about the legality of having pornographic images from spam emails on your xxx PC’s hard disk.

Even if another household member views or downloads pornography on your computer, you are not at risk of prosecution should you need to leave a computer for repair with an engineer.A large number of porn images arrive by email. Some people even consider it funny to pass them on to friends, but this is a breach of the Obscene Publications Act. More to the porno español point, if you send such material from your computer at work, you could be sacked for gross misconduct if the person who receives it doesn’t see the joke.As many of us have discovered to our horror, some pop-up adverts and spam emails promise access to images of ‘very young teenagers’ or worse. Don’t be concerned about the possibility of being investigated because of any images that have appeared on your screen. Simply delete them youporn without opening them, or close the pop-up window.

Reporting abuse

We spoke to the Abusive Images Unit, a part of Greater Manchester Police, and were told that on no account should you investigate the content of any website that offers access to child pornography. Even if your intention is to find out whether the material is illegal, with a view to reporting it to the police, your actions could be interpreted very differently and you could mamadas find yourself being investigated as a potential paedophile.If you stumble on a website, pop-up advert, newsgroup or email that you think should be reported, submit the details to the Internet Watch Foundation. This body works with the government, police and ISPs to shut down illegal pornographic sites.These experts are authorised to assess the material without risk of prosecution – you are not. The Metropolitan Police offers more information about this unacceptable trade on its website, and a telephone number you can call if you stumble across suspect material.

Some readers have asked us what the law says about pictures of their own children. Some parents are concerned that perfectly innocent digital photographs could be misinterpreted by over-zealous anti-porn crusaders.A representative of the Abusive Images Unit in Manchester put us straight: “The nature of ‘indecency’ is not defined in law. It’s difficult to explain the difference between a picture that shows a loving family scene and one that shows an act of abuse without seeing the two compared. But when police officers look at images, the difference between what is appropriate and what is not is obvious.”

COPYRIGHT

Computers have shaken up ideas about ownership because of their ability to chop up sound, images and ideas into digital data, while the internet – particularly broadband – has made it simple and relatively cheap to share that information. On the whole it’s been a remarkable revolution, changing the way we communicate and share ideas. However, not everybody has been as enthusiastic.The entertainment industry, both here and in the US, has been determined in its efforts to prevent people sharing entertainment. There’s nothing new about this. Copyright laws have long existed to protect people who produce ideas, whether it’s a piece of software, an opera or a recipe.Once a work is published, the owner of the copyright holds the right to profit from it. Anyone who attempts to use the material without permission, which usually involves payment, is breaking the law.
Lawyers were already scratching their heads about the impact of computing on copyright ownership, but the advent of file-sharing networks hit them for six. The original Napster service (before it became the legal download site) let people share music online.

But even though they may have paid for a physical copy, it wasn’t theirs to share. This led to producers using technology to stop people making copies or sharing them online. It’s called digital rights management (DRM) software, and controls where, how and how often digital material can be played, moved or copied.Rip offFile-sharing has caused tremendous bitterness between copyright owners and consumers, and has led to the introduction of new and stronger laws to protect copyright owners. Many consumer groups argue that the pendulum has swung back too far in the favour of copyright owners, giving courts the power to imprison people who share material online.

The British Phonographic Institute (BPI) has already begun legal proceedings against UK home users, but only those who share very large amounts of music online without the copyright holder’s permission.The European Union Copyright Directive states that it’s illegal not only to make an unauthorised copy of a copyrighted work, but to attempt to sidestep DRM measures. The BPI has not ruled out using this law to prosecute users of file-sharing services such as Kazaa and Grokster. Click here for the campaigners’ view of this law.Most people accept that songwriters and film companies should be paid for their work. The grey area in copyright is what’s called ‘fair use’. This means being able to make a back-up copy of a work that you have already paid for.You might want to do this to guard against theft of or damage to a DVD, or you might want to make a copy of a CD to listen to in the car or on a portable music player. Many DRM tools stop you doing this, which could be interpreted as an affront to your rights as a consumer.

This one, as the papers would say, will run and run, and hopefully the industry will find some sensible middle ground on copyright and fair use in time.Until then, if you intend to make copies for fair use, you should know that trying to rip a CD or DVD that contains DRM is illegal, full stop. Selling, giving away or uploading copyrighted material without permission is illegal. To find out more about legal music downloads, visit Promusic.

SPAM, HACKING AND VIRUSES

Governments around the world have been looking for legislative solutions to the spam problem for years. Spammers use automated tools that drill out every possible combination of common names and words connected to a particular domain. There is now legislation, both here and in the US, that defines how spammers may contact us. But there are several problems with the legal approach.First, US politicians agreed on a law that enabled companies to send unsolicited commercial offerings unless consumers explicitly forbade them to do so. This is the ‘opt-out’ principle. In contrast, companies based in the UK must ask users to tick a box that gives them permission to send you email, or sell your email address details to other companies. This is the ‘opt-in’ approach.Second, a large amount of spam comes from countries outside these areas, so the companies behind it face no legal penalty. The short answer is not to expect the law to protect you from spam. Not everyone has given up hope, though. The Spamhaus Project is run by anti-spam activist Steve Linford. He has faced death threats from some of the spammers he has tried to shut down.

Further online headaches are caused by viruses, worms and hackers. Trojan horses and key-loggers pose a serious threat, with the information they collect increasingly used to commit fraud. You can learn more about how to defend yourself from these threats in our feature, How to make your PC secure. But the law is clear on viruses: creating and distributing a virus is illegal.Being an unwitting accomplice (such as when a PC with no antivirus software is used to send out viruses) is more irresponsible than illegal, but that’s no excuse for not having updated protection.As for hacking, breaking into a computer via the web is just as illegal as breaking into the house next door. These offences are increasingly being committed by organised criminals, and the authorities have responded by creating the National Hi-Tech Crime Unit although getting help from the police is a very stiff uphill struggle. Unless you’ve been seriously defrauded, it’s often not worth the effort.

PRIVACY

The law enshrines our right to privacy. In the online world, that refers to our right to control how information about us is used. In the UK, this is covered by the Data Protection Act (DPA), a controversial and widely misunderstood piece of legislation.Broadly speaking, the DPA says that companies must tell people how any information held about them is to be used. That means consumers have a choice whether to accept those conditions or not.When you sign up for online services, such as shopping or banking, you will be asked to confirm, normally by ticking a box, that you have read and understood the conditions of the service.If you want to see what privacy campaigners are getting hot under the collar about, take a look at Privacy International’s website here.

DEFAMATION

One of the great things about the web is that it gives everyone the ability to express themselves, but with rights come responsibility and the ability to publish material online has brought defamation laws into everyone’s front room.
A defamatory, or libellous, statement is one that is inaccurate and likely to lower the estimation of a person in the eyes of others. Other things to be careful about when you publish words online are untrue statements that could expose a person to ridicule or hatred.You may think it funny to mock someone in a chatroom, but you could face legal action if what you say is untrue. In reality, that’s unlikely to happen; most websites bar people who behave badly from accessing services, but that’s no guarantee.There’s another, darker side to defamation: racism and other forms of hatred. Sites that contain material that belittles or urges violence against people because of their background, religion or race is illegal. If you see any such sites, report them to the Internet Watch Foundation. For more details, see the Met Police guide to computer crime here

Self-censorship

Companies that run websites where opinions can be freely expressed are nervous of libel laws, and for good reason. In the UK, there is no legal precedent to say whether the author of a defamatory statement made on a website is solely responsible for it.One web user brought a case against the ISP Demon Internet, saying that it was liable for untrue statements about him posted on a website because it was the ‘publisher’, like a newspaper. The case was settled out of court, and the principle of ‘notice and take down’ was established.

This often means that ISPs will remove material when notified that it is potentially libellous, regardless of whether it’s actually true (and therefore perfectly legal).But there is no guarantee that an ISP or site owner would be protected from prosecution in the event of a libel action, so don’t be surprised if your strong opinions or statements get you barred from a website.

Learning the legal lingo

The legal industry is as notorious for its jargon as technology, with many laws written in a language – nicknamed ‘legalese’ – that is seemingly designed to be understood only by experts.There is a good reason for this: laws don’t prohibit specific offences as such. They are written to encompass many forms of illegal behaviour in a given context. In other words, they have to be able to stop newer offences that couldn’t be imagined when the law was originally written (such as computer-based frauds).
Thankfully, the web is on hand to make things a little clearer. Try Advice Now for an A-Z look at legal lingo. If you require a solicitor or want to learn more about your rights – in language you can understand – try the Law Society or the Family and Consumer UK Law Guide. THE VERDICT
Every territory needs a rule of law. For every freedom that technology creates, there are a thousand users ready to exploit it. There’s a long way to go before the internet is fully tamed by legal means, but that doesn’t mean you’re at the mercy of its shadier characters.
Armed with knowledge of your rights online you will be equipped to deal with situations you may encounter on the web and to seek help in the right places.

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