LexisNexis identity
glitch worse than first thought
Reed Elsevier Group warned
people last month that identifying information of 32,000 people had been
stolen from the Seisint unit of its LexisNexis. Now it looks like things
might be much worse. The company said yesterday that thieves might have
obtained computer files containing personal information about 310,000
people, almost 10 times more than originally thought. The company says it
knows of 59 times since 2003 when thousands of Social Security Numbers and
driver’s license numbers may have been illegally taken. But the company
says it wasn’t hackers that attacked LexisNexis and Seisint—the
information was obtained through the improper use of IDs and passwords by
legit customers. Only 2 percent of the original 32,000 notified have
accepted LexisNexis’ offer for free credit reports and credit
monitoring, and nobody has reported identity theft stemming from the
incident.
Britney: Those horrid tabloids were right, I'm PG
Four
years after “I’m Not a Girl, Not Yet Woman,” Britney Spears proved
to everyone that she finally is yesterday by announcing her pregnancy on
her web site (not that everyone hadn’t already heard the rumor). A visit
to BritneySpears.com greets surfers with a message that reads “We’re
expecting” with a pair of pink and blue pastel balloons. A
click on the message leads to this statement: “The time has finally come
to share our wonderful news that we are expecting our first child
together. There are reports that I was in the hospital this weekend, and
Kevin and I just want everyone to know that all is well. Thank you for
your thoughts and prayers.” For the non-tabloid-reading public, Kevin is
27-year-old Kevin Federline, a backup dancer who met Spears on one of her
tours (while his ex-girlfriend was pregnant with their second child). Last
week the couple announced a new reality show on UPN that will document
their relationship, but that will only extend through last fall's wedding.
Two weeks ago, Spears lashed out via a web rant at magazines like Star and
Us Weekly for reporting that she was pregnant.
Microsoft: New MSN services & new security flaw
Microsoft
has had a busy week. Last week it launched MSN Spaces, a free blogging
service used by some 4.5 million people during its test run, which started
in December. Not only that, but the company debuted the latest version of
MSN Messenger with a slightly slicker interface and more options than
previous versions. But, as is all too common for the company, Microsoft also
announced another round of critical security flaws for some of its
products. New flaws in Windows, Internet Explorer, Word and Messenger have
been identified and tabbed “critical,” meaning they could allow hackers
to take control of a PC. A fifth flaw with its Exchange Server software has been identified as well. As always,
Microsoft advises owners of these products to download security patches
from its Micrsoft.com/security web site.
Localized mobile
search may be the next big thing
As
cell phones become more advanced, expect companies like Google and Yahoo
to up their mobile presence. Google has added a link to its site
that allows people with XHTML-enabled cell phones to enter a search term
or phrase along with a zip code to get map results from Google Local.
Also, using Google SMS, users can send a search within a text message to
46646—translated to “GOOGL” on most phones—and get driving
directions in a text reply from Google. Yahoo also has
a search service that works through mobile phones where users of the Yahoo
Local search engine can send query results from a PC directly to a phone.
While the current number of XHTML phones in use is small, analysts believe
local search on mobile phones has potential for large audiences.
City of Wireless Love:
Philadelphia goes Wi-Fi
In
the race,
if there is one, to become the first wireless U.S. city, it now appears
Philadelphia has the lead. The city first planned to set up a
network for Wi-Fi enabled computers within a roughly one-mile radius of Love
Park, but has since expanded those plans to include the city’s entire
135-square-mile area. “Wireless Philadelphia,” as it’s being called,
should be up and running by summer 2006 and will charge
users $20 a month for access to the network. Philly’s plans could be the
first of many.
Today
Minneapolis
will announce plans for a citywide wireless and fiber optic network that
could be ready
for consumer use in a year and a half. Under the
plan, consumers would be able to buy wireless broadband access at 1-3
million bits per second for between $18 and $24 a month.
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