Washing machines that read the labels

Ariston is acting on manufacturers beginning to tag products with RF chips, by adding in the technology to read them on its domestic appliances. Recently Gillette began manufacturing RF-tagged razor blades to boost efficiency in its inventory and logistics processes, as razor blades are one the products most-often stolen from supermarkets. The technology allows both Gillette and supermarkets to track production rates and stock levels. ...more

New virus stings Eyeball video chat network

Listens in for usernames and passwords and installs a backdoor so that the attacker can access the infected machine A Trojan that targets a video-conferencing system has been discovered. Once the virus, known as Baley-A, has infected a system, it connects to a server on the Eyeball video chat network, where it can listen in for usernames and passwords of others on the network. It also starts up an automated client on the infected machine, and then installs a backdoor so that the attacker can access not only the infected machine, but also use it to connect to Eyeball. ...more

Ofcom chairman rejects fibre optics

Ofcom has no plans to force telecoms providers to install optical fibre cabling to improve broadband speeds for homes and business located far from their local exchange. The regulator's chairman Lord Currie told the Communications Management Association's (CMA) annual conference that there is currently no case for regulating on fibre to the home (FTTH, also known as fibre to the premises, FTTP, or fibre to the building, FTTB). 'For customers who live too far from an exchange, technically this is a problem that could be solved by fibre,' he said. ...more

Britons buy half a million legal music downloads

The BPI has announced that, according to the Official UK Chart Company (OCC) there have been 500,000 legal downloads of music to date this year. The bestselling tracks have been Coldplay's 2,000 Miles and OutKast's Hey Ya. The OCC is a partnership between the BPI and the British Association of Record Dealers and expects to launch an Official UK Download Chart later this summer. ...more

iTunes ID labels are ineffective anti-copying measure

Labelling iTunes downloads with the buyer's ID is not an effective measure against file sharing, two computer scientists and DRM experts have concluded. Ed Felten and Alex Halderman of Princeton University argue that there is no effective method for distinguishing between files that have been deliberately shared and files which have been 'stolen'. A highly probable scenario, Felten and Halderman note, given that more than 10 per cent of PCs are infected by bots that could be directed to swipe iTunes files. ...more