Tag: email
O2 plans free UK Wi-Fi
Currently the mobile phone service provider O2 has been offering a Wi-Fi service via the Cloud and BT Openzone, but with the Cloud potentially being taken over by BSkyB, O2 are planning a Wi-Fi network of its own.
It looks as if the network will consist of around four hundred and fifty sites, but once the firm ties up with retailers, restaurants and other public places, they are looking to build the network very quickly.
Jeremy Green, a principal analyst with Ovum, the move is a “step in the right direction” to sorting out O2′s capacity issues, brought about by high iPhone ownership and the increasing desire for data on the move.
“450 sites is not fantastic coverage and Wi-Fi isn’t something that Smartphone users will be able to rely on but it is a gesture in the right direction,” he said.
It seems that O2 are planning a rival to BT Fon, but this service uses the limited bandwidth available on residential broadband connections, whereas O2′s network will be made up with premium hotspots located at busy public areas.
“Only 20% of people who have access to free public Wi-Fi on 02 tariffs actively use it despite the majority of devices being Wi-Fi enabled,” said O2′s business development director Tim Sefton
“We know that Wi-Fi as a technology has great potential and can be a very fast service, however customers are discouraged by barriers which include complexity in activation, uncertainty of where Wi-Fi is free and the variable quality of the current experience,” he added.
Source [BBC]
US Demands Wikileaks Twitter Details
The people who are keeping the Wikileaks site up and running are preparing to resist a legal move by the US government to obtain details of the Wikileaks Twitter accounts, billing details and private messages. It is believed that Twitter is the just the tip of the US attack and that other social networking sites and email providers will also have to reveal this data.
Mr Assange blasted the US plans by saying; ‘If the Iranian government was to attempt to coercively obtain this information from journalists and activists of foreign nations, human rights groups around the world would speak out.’
Mark Stephens, Mr Assange’s lawyer, said; “We are in the process of implementing a challenge to the subpoenas and flushing out any others. We think there are subpoenas for Facebook, Skype, internet service providers and other official media.”
“They have 10 days to challenge the subpoena from the moment they are first informed of it. Mr Assange has not yet been given formal notice of his, but Ms Jonsdottir received hers last Friday. Posting on Twitter, she said she had “no intention to hand my information over willingly”.
Source [Independent]
SPAM drops over Christmas
It seems that Christmas really is the season for good will to all men as even the spammers appeared to be taking a break over the festive period. It seems that the reason for this is a drastic fall in botnet activity, especially those extra larger systems such as Rustock, which was the most dominant botnet in 2010.
The problem is for security firms and computer users now, is that these botnets such as, Rustock, Lethic and Xarvester are now like sleeping giants; we know that they are there, but we simply do not want them to wake up, therefore we not become complacent.
According to Paul Wood, Message Labs Intelligence senior analyst with Symantec Hosted Services said, “At present we don’t know why these botnets have stopped spamming; perhaps the botnet herders have decided they need a holiday too?”
“As we saw after the closure of McColo in 2008, and following further takedown attempts in subsequent years, botnets rarely stay quiet for very long,” Wood said.
He added, “Even if these three botnets don’t come back soon, we would expect other botnets, even new ones, to pick-up where they have left off – very soon.”
Source [IT Pro]
Hotmail accounts wiped out
The world’s most popular free email service, Hotmail from MSN is a little less popular now than it was a few weeks ago, due the fact that many users have been complaining that their entire Hotmail account has been wiped out without any warning!
Apparently when they tried to log in the affected users were greeted with a “Welcome to Hotmail” page, just as you would if they had just signed up for a new account. This can also happen if the account has been left for over two hundred and ten with no activity.
But it now seems that Microsoft have now sorted the problem and the accounts have been restored, although according to some users messages from the last three days are not showing up yet.
“We recognize that even though we restored email access, some of the affected users did not receive mail sent to them during the last 24-72 hours,” says Microsoft on the Windows Live help site.
“We are in the process of rectifying that and should be finished by late tonight Pacific time.”
Source [TG Daily]
The future of email launched by Facebook
How many times have heard that “This is the one” or “This is the future” only to see these ideas fail and then disappear into the sunset!
However, when Mark Zuckerberg says something, no matter how outrageous it may sound, we stop, listen and on many occasions believe in what he says; today is one of those days!
Facebook’s CEO – Mark Zuckerberg said, “I used to think about those numbers after talking with a group of high school students. People do not want to use emails anymore. I was kind of boggled by this. I remember having a similar conversation with my parents about why e-mail was good and regular mail was slow…At Facebook, we are all so used to using e-mail. It’s interesting to see that all kinds of folks don’t see it that way.”
The service will have a slow roll out, probably taking some months to complete and yet the ultimate goal will mean that more Facebook users will be spending more time on the social networking site once this service has been fully integrated.
Source [Tech Radar]
Facebook to announce email
Today at a special event in San Francisco, the world’s largest social networking site Facebook will be announcing the launch of a new email service that will rival the likes the Google’s Gmail, MSN’s Hotmail and Yahoo’s email service. With five hundred million users, it simply cannot fail to be a success, so long as the users buy into it!
It is believed that the Facebook service will offer users an email service that will see users their own email address @facebook.com, clearly if this is true users will be falling over themselves to get the top tier email address with their names or initials.
This would become even more relevant following the issues between Google and Facebook over access to contact data.
The event will begin in San Francisco today at 6.00 pm UK time, if this is what we are expecting it could be one of the first major upsets to Google’s Gmail service since its launch.
Source [BBC]
Facebook and Google argue over data
When Google announced that it would no longer let Facebook use the Google API to automatically allow contact access, you could just tell that this was not the end of the matter, but merely the first salvos in a long winded battle.
It seems that Facebook have gone for the work around route to solve the issue, this means that the Facebook member will only have to select “Other e-mail service” in the Gmail account services in order to allow Facebook access.
Google now claim that this a one sided arrangement that allows Facebook to import data from Google, but not the other way around, but the search giant is also warning user that take this route that they could be creating a data dead end, this is where they will begin experiencing issues with other sites.
Source [V3]
Google cannot be trusted!
The watchdog in charge of privacy in the UK has claimed that the world’s largest search engine, Google are fit to handle data on behalf of the newly formed UK anti terror database, in fact he has gone so far as to claim that Google cannot be trusted.
These claims follow the government’s plan to make internet and communication companies to store records of emails, texts, phone calls, web searches and sites visited, this includes Google, but their track record following the street view Wi-Fi breach is not looking good.
But according to the Information Commissioner, Christopher Graham, he said “Anyone who thinks that storing the information with the communication service providers, rather than in a big database, solves the problem, hasn’t been paying attention to what’s happening with Google”,
Source [Channel 4]
UK websites like Spam
According to research carried out by Spam Ratings, ten of all UK based websites are responsible for spamming visitors or even worse for sending out malicious spam as figures for the spam in the UK double over the past year.
Spam Ratings carry out regular research over a year checking ten thousand websites and over one hundred and fifty thousand emails. However, by the end of the September, figure showed that spam had increased by 110 per cent, with one in ten websites producing spam around five times a day, every day!
With spam reaching record levels, the rules governing email databases are also being pushed to the limited with around twenty per cent of websites breaking to rules governing email marketing and the opt in rule.
Online scams are estimated to affect around three million UK based surfers with a cost of £3.5 billion per year, it is believed that around 73 per cent of adults are affected by spam every year. Spam Ratings are currently running a Stop Spam Abuse campaign on Facebook.
Source [T3]
The Interception Modernisation Programme (IMP) approved
It seems that anyone who thought that the Interception Modernisation Programme (IMP) died with the last government is wrong, the IMP had just been put on the back boiler and now it looks as if the heat it about to be turn up to full.
The IMP is a programme where all phone calls, emails, sms, instant messages and surfing history will be stored, internet service provider will be forced to introduce interception equipment onto their networks for this purpose.
The most obvious department to be put in charge of the operation is GCHQ, they will be able to configure deep packet inspection technology so that it can identify and intercept data, although currently this can already be done but only with the permission of the Home Secretary.
However, we are in a time of cutbacks, especially in the public sector, so what is the cost of this spynet going to be, around £2bn over ten years!
Source [The Register]
20% of students have hacked
It could be a sign of the times or just a lack of security, but hacking has become rather more wide spread than many industry experts first thought. According the IT site IT Pro Portal, one five university students have admitted to hacking into social networking profiles, email accounts and even online shopping accounts.
The majority of the hacks took place on Facebook and the only damaged was to alter the users profile page, then came the more serious hacking into email accounts, followed by using another person’s online shopping account.
What we would like to know is, have you been a victim of hacking and what sort of form was it?
Source [Online Social Media]
Gmail delivers priority mail
Anyone with an email account will be used to spam and other unwanted messages it is just one of those things, and even with filters you still have to check these boxes just in case something important has slipped through.
It seems that Google are on to that with the new experimental “Priority Inbox” you will be able to find this at the top of the Gmail page on right next to your email address!
This tool although in the experimental stages will split email into three groups, “Important and Unread”, “Starred”, and “Everything Else” the process of filtering is done through a new algorithm developed by Google that predicts what category the message falls into and directs it to the right box.
Source [PC World]
1 in 20 employees in trouble over email
It seems that sending a funny, rude or personal email while at work, can get you into a lot of trouble and in some cases sending an email could lead to the sack.
According to figures released by the Press Association, five per cent of workers have found themselves in trouble because of a misjudged email sent to the wrong person at the wrong time.
The issue seems to get worse, because a third of employees admit to actually pressing the “Reply All” button, instead of the “Reply” button and therefore causing more trouble. Just out of curiosity, it seems that men are more likely to do that than women!
Source [IT Portal]
MP wanted email address kept private
For many people it is believed that the local MP’s website is for information and how they can contact their representative, but it seems that not all MP’s are happy with having their email in fall view of the surfing public.
The conservative MP Dominic Raab, has had his official email address removed from the parliamentary party website because of the lobby groups contacting him.
it seems that the for the time being contacting Dominic Raab MP, will probably be easier by snail mail, it’s cheap and constituents may get a response or maybe it will get lost in the system too!
Source [PC Pro]
