NEWS IN BRIEF
Daily Digest 26 August
26-08-2009
by Emmet Cole
Google Maps adds traffic features | YouTube to share ad revenue with users
Bookie chain Paddy Power has reported pre-tax profits of EUR34 million for the six months to the end of June 2009, down from the EUR47 million reported at the same time last year. However, the company reported an acceleration of growth in its online division, with turnover up 32 percent year on year. The number of active online customers grew by 20 percent over the year, while operating profits at the online division rose by 3 percent to EUR22 million as the amounts staked grew by 23 percent.
UPC -- the television, internet and telephone service provider trading as Chorus ntl -- is upping the ante in its war of words with the big four music labels in Ireland (EMI, Sony, Warner and Universal). In a statement issued on Wednesday, UPC maintained its refusal to block access to the controversial The Pirate Bay torrent site. Contending that there is no basis for such an action in Irish law and that such a move would amount to internet censorship by private parties -- rather than governmental or legal bodies -- UPC repeated its offer to participate in a forum to address the issue of piracy. But not before a final suggestion: "Should the rightsholders wish to address alleged piracy via The Pirate Bay, they should follow the example of their Dutch colleagues and take this up with The Pirate Bay directly," the statement concluded.
Google plans to add traffic crowdsourcing features to its Google Maps website this week. The new functionality will enable car drivers to share traffic information with Google Maps via their smartphones. Google Maps will combine this information with other traffic data to calculate the most effective route to your location. Google Maps software for mobile devices will also use satellite positioning features in smartphones to gather anonymous information regarding how fast people are moving along different roads. There will be an opt-out option available to those concerned about being tracked online. Google plans to roll out its crowdsourcing functionality in the US initially and then worldwide, although dates for the international rollout have not been released.
Video sharing site YouTube is to start sharing advertising cash with users who upload popular clips. The Google-owned site will allow individuals to make money based on the popularity of their video and the number of times it is shared by other YouTube users. YouTube has not revealed the number of views a video will require to qualify for the initiative, which will involve selling ads on the same page as the video. Ads will only be placed with user consent, the company added.
The first half of 2009 has revealed fundamental security weaknesses in the web ecosystem and an exceptional sophistication in vulnerability exploitation, according to a new report from the IT security experts at IBM X-Force. The six-month report found that there has been a 508 percent increase in the number of new malicious domains and un-trusted websites with the ability to gain access and manipulate data as the primary consequence. The level of veiled web exploits -- especially PDF files -- is at an all-time high, with attackers becoming more sophisticated, according to IBM. PDF vulnerabilities, for example, disclosed in the first half of 2009 have already surpassed disclosures from all of 2008. Between the first and second quarter alone, the amount of "suspicious, obfuscated or concealed content" monitored by the IBM ISS Managed Security Services team nearly doubled. SQL injection attacks also rose -- 50 percent from the fourth quarter of 2008 to the first quarter of 2009, and then nearly 100 percent from the first quarter of 2009 to the second quarter.
Microsoft has issued an apology for editing a marketing photo for the Polish market by changing a black man's head to that of a white man. On the website of Microsoft's Polish business unit the black man's head was removed and replaced with a white face -- although the colour of his hands remained unchanged. The software giant has since removed the photo from the Polish website following widespread criticism on the web.
Finally, spare a thought for actress Jessica Biel, who has been identified as possessing the most dangerous celebrity name on the internet by security firm McAfee. The firm's annual celebrity search report found that a search for Jessica Biel is more likely to take to you a malicious website [we think they mean malicious code, rather than gossip] than any other celebrity search. Biel screensavers are the worst offenders apparently, with roughly half containing malicious software. Second on the list is singer Beyonce, with actress Jennifer Aniston coming third.
Caped Koala Studios has built a virtual world for kids, combining education and social networking 