Yahoo is Trying to Become a Part of Social Web

Yahoo participated in the fray of integrating social networking with search results. Due to the alliance of Bing and Yahoo, Bing is responsible for all of the back-end work of actually crawling and indexing the Web, while Yahoo handles a unique front-end. The company does not plan to convolve the tent as well as be inferior online search to Google and Bing in the near future.

The company is going to overtake its competitors such as Google and Bing in the race for incorporating real-time search results brought from social networking.

One should say that Google search results as well as the integration of Twitter real-time updates showed the values of social networking for online search. Still the standard catalog of Web sites indexed for online search hold its position, although social networking supplements an immediacy element that is necessary for the society in order to make instant updates on breaking news.

Yahoo has made an approach concerning integration of Twitter in its search results. The company offers only two tweets and also adds two YouTube links that are taken from Twitter updates. It helps cut down on the information overload but unfortunately it cuts too far.

It should be mention that Yahoo is the party, but still the company is lucky because the party is in the process of development.

Popularity: 14% [?]

Bellingham officials interested in Google high-speed Internet project

Bellingham Mayor Dan Pike has asked his staff to start discussions about applying to be a part of Google’s Fiber high-speed Internet project.

Google announced Wednesday, Feb. 10, that it is planning to build and test ultra high-speed broadband networks in a small number of trial locations across the United States.

The networks would deliver Internet speeds more than 100 times faster than the average U.S. Internet connection, according to Google’s announcement, and the service would be offered to between 50,000 and 500,000 people.

They’ve asked local government and the public to offer up proposals through March 26 to take part in the project.

“The first blush reaction was, well, first of all more speed is a better thing for the city because it helps us in terms of attracting economic development,” Pike said.

The project also has sparked the creation of a Facebook group – Bring Google Fiber for Communities to Bellingham – by residents excited for the city to seek the network.

Pike’s piqued interest is shared by new Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn, who announced Thursday, Feb. 11, that his administration would respond to Google’s request for proposals, too.

In Bellingham, any work toward a proposal is in the very early stages, said Information Technology Services Department Director Marty Mulholland.

The city must determine if the project is viable, she said, so staff will look at the status of the city’s infrastructure, use of utility poles, regulatory requirements, existing broadband in the community and more.

“We have many community attributes that seem to me to be positive in considering whether to take this on,” she said. “Our community size, presence of university, commitment to ‘green,’ presence of specific business types, active engaged citizens, and beautiful desirable community setting all seem to me to be positive factors.”

Popularity: 19% [?]

Google Books project face trouble in India

A group of Indian author and publishers have raised voice against Google and filed charges at the New York district court alleging copyright violation for scanning several books in Indian languages without notifying the authors.

Star Publications Pvt. Ltd., Abhinav Publications, Daya Publication House and Pustak Mahal also include in the group of publishers, who have moved court against the Google Book Settlement.

By reaching an agreement with several universities in the US, Google has been scanning millions of books under copyright protection since 2004 and thus the snippets of these books were made available online under the initiative, known as the Google Library Project.

Siddharth Arya, the legal counsel for IRRO (Indian Reprographic Rights Organisation) said, “Google’s unilateral conduct is a brazen attempt to turn copyright law on its head, by usurping the exclusive rights of the copyright holder”.

“The outcome of all of this was GBS 2.0 that incorporates minor cosmetic changes but continues to violate basic copyright laws. It retains several fundamental issues in the original settlement such as a mechanism known as ‘opt out’,” Arya said.

Popularity: 28% [?]

Google Transliteration IME to support 14 Indic languages

The search engine giant Google on Thursday released a desktop Transliteration IME, an Input Method Editor which aids users to type in 14 Indic languages using Roman keyboard accessible in online or offline mode. The service was previously available by the name Google Indic Transliteration as an online service.

Users can type words phonetically using Latin characters and the Google Transliteration IME would convert the word to its native script.

The Google Transliteration IME was developed at Indian R&D center in Bangalore which is available in 14 languages like Arabic, Bengali, Farsi (Persian), Greek, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Nepali, Punjabi, Tamil, Telugu and Urdu.

For the time being, the IME engine is compatible with Windows 7/Vista/XP and can be downloaded for free. The tool also has features like personalized choices, word completion, quick search, easy-to-use keyboard and various other neccessary required options.

The IME enables businesses, students and teachers to author content and share views in their local languages and also helps users to use the feature with Gmail, Orkut, Blogger and Knol.

Popularity: 18% [?]

Chinese Human Rights Sites Hit by DDoS Attack

Five Web sites run by Chinese human rights activists were attacked by hackers over the weekend, as a separate row continued between Google and China over political cyberattacks.

The Web site of Chinese Human Rights Defenders, an advocacy group, was hit by a distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack that lasted 16 hours starting Saturday afternoon, the group said in an e-mailed statement on Monday. A DDoS attack involves the attacker ordering a legion of compromised computers all to visit a certain Web site at once, overwhelming its server with requests for communication and leaving the site inaccessible to normal visitors. The group said it could not confirm the origin of the attackers but called the Chinese government the most likely suspect.

Google this month said it had been hit by cyberattacks from China partly aimed at accessing the Gmail accounts of human rights activists. The company cited the attacks, which also resulted in the theft of Google intellectual property, as one reason it plans to stop censoring its Chinese search engine, even if that means closing down its China offices.

The latest hacking attack also targeted another Chinese rights group named Civil Rights and Livelihood Watch; two news sites run by Chinese activists, Canyu and New Century News; and the Independent Chinese Pen Center, which posts essays by dissident writers, according to the e-mailed statement. Public records show the Web sites all share two neighboring IP (Internet Protocol) addresses, suggesting the sites were all affected by the DDoS attack.

The bandwidth consumed by the attack hit 2GB per second at its peak, the statement said, citing the Internet service provider for the Web sites.

The targeted IP addresses belong to The Planet, a server hosting provider based in Texas. No one at The Planet was immediately available to comment.

Hackers also placed malware on two of the Web sites before the attack, but that is now being removed, the statement said. The group that sent out the statement has often been hit by cyberattacks, sometimes leaving its Web site down for days, it said.

An advocacy group for foreign journalists in China last week said the Gmail accounts of at least two reporters there had been recently hijacked.

Popularity: 25% [?]

Internet to soon run out of IP addresses

The Internet is running out of Internet Protocol (IP) addresses, used by computers to communicate.

The Amsterdam-based Number Resource Organization (NRO), the official representative of the five Regional Internet Registries that oversee the allocation of all Internet number resources, announced on Thursday that less than 10 percent of available IPv4 addresses remain unallocated. (V4 IP addresses consist of four sets of numbers separated by colons, which serve as a unique identification for computers on networks.) It said the remaining small pool of existing IP addresses marks a critical moment in IPv4 address exhaustion, ultimately impacting the future network operations of all businesses and organizations around the globe.

The chairman of NRO Axel Pawlik said in an official release that it was vital for the Internet community to shift to a new addressing scheme using six sets of numbers (IPv6) and called for determined action to ensure global adoption of IPv6. “The limited IPv4 addresses will not allow us enough resources to achieve the ambitions we all hold for global Internet access. The deployment of IPv6 is a key infrastructure development that will enable the network to support the billions of people and devices that will connect in the coming years,” Mr. Pawlik said.

Internet Protocol is a set of technical rules that defines how devices communicate over a network. Of the two versions of IP, IPv6 includes a modern numbering system that provides a much larger address pool than IPv4. With so few IPv4 addresses remaining, NRO is urging all Internet stakeholders to take immediate action by planning for the necessary investments required to deploy IPv6, the release said.

The NRO, alongside each individual RIR, has actively promoted IPv6 deployment for several years through grassroots outreach, speaking engagements, conferences and media outreach. Given the less than 10 percent milestone, the NRO is continuing its call for Internet stakeholders, including governments, vendors, enterprises, telecoms operators, and end users, to fulfill their roles in IPv6 adoption, specifically encouraging the following actions: the business sector provide IPv6-capable services and platforms, including web hosting and equipment, ensuring accessibility for IPv6 users; software and hardware vendors implement IPv6 support in their products to guarantee they are available at production standard when needed; governments lead the way by making their own content and services available over IPv6 and encouraging IPv6 deployment efforts in their countries. IPv6 requirements in government procurement policies are critical at this time. Civil society, including organizations and end users, should request that all services they receive from their ISPs and vendors are IPv6-ready, to build demand and ensure competitive availability of IPv6 services in coming years.

The NRO’s campaign to promote the next generation of Internet Protocol continues to positively impact the Internet community. IPv6 allocations increased by nearly 30 per cent in 2009, as community members continued to recognize the benefits of IPv6. “Many decision makers don’t realise how many devices require IP addresses – mobile phones, laptops, servers, routers, the list goes on,” said Raul Echeberria, Secretary of the NRO. “The number of available IPv4 addresses is shrinking rapidly, and if the global Internet community fails to recognize this, it will face grave consequences in the very near future. As such, the NRO is working to educate everyone, from network operators to top executives and government representatives, about the importance of IPv6 adoption,” added Mr. Echeberria.

IP addresses are allocated by the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA), a contract operated by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN). IANA distributes IP addresses to regional registries, which in turn issue them to users in their respective regions.

Popularity: 17% [?]

Google campaign to increase net exposure in state

Google India on Tuesday announced the arrival of the Google Internet Bus, a mobile campaign aimed to reach out to people in tier II and III towns with limited exposure to the internet. After covering Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, Kerala and Madhya Pradesh, Google India kick-starts its 2010 journey in Rajasthan.

The bus is designed to provide an Internet experience to the people. The 30-day journey in Rajasthan will be covering Jaipur, Kota, Ajmer, Beawer, Bhilwara, Udaipur, Pali, Jodhpur, Bikaner and Sikar With a focus on four themes, information, communication, entertainment and education, the Internet Bus will have content in English and Hindi to give users an understanding of how the internet can be used for all these needs.

It is a Google India’s exercise to learn from users on their requirement. The bus experience is specially designed to familiarise people with various applications and services that they can use to make their life simple. In addition to basic familiarisation on using services like search, email, social networking and online maps, the bus will also aim to reach out to first-time users who have little or no exposure to the Internet.

During its 11-month journey the Internet Bus has made an impresssion each time it has visited a city: A businessman in Krishnagiri (Tamil Nadu) was amazed to see how he could pay off his utility bills and book train tickets with the click of a button. It was a thrilling experience for a local musician in Vijaywada (Andhra Pradesh) to learn how he can use the internet to compose music and showcase his work to the world. A millet farmer in the remote fringes of Tumkur (Karnataka) went back with a memorable experience with the bus and asked his son to go online to search for a job.

“The year 2009 has been a great journey for the Google Internet Bus. Having covered five states we touched the lives of over 460,000 people and showcased the benefit of internet and how it can revolutionize daily lives,” said Prasad Ram, head ,Google R&D, India.

Popularity: 13% [?]

How to Protect Yourself When Using Internet Explorer

It won’t take more than a few minutes to close a security hole in Internet Explorer that allowed attacks against Google.

Worried about the security hole in Internet Explorer that was used to launch attacks by China against Google and others? There are ways to help close it and limit your exposure to similar threats — and it won’t take more than a few minutes. Here’s how to do it.

Microsoft has confirmed that an IE vulnerability was at fault for the Google attacks. In Microsoft Security Advisory (979352) it spells out details and in a company blog, Mike Reavey, director of Microsoft’s Security Response Center (MSRC) provides more information.

The security advisory notes that IE 5.01 running on Windows 2000 was not vulnerable to the attack, but that IE6, IE7 and IE8 on Windows 2000, XP, Server 2003, Vista, Server 2008, Windows 7 and Server 2008 R2 are all at risk.

As of yet, you can’t completely close the security hole. However, there are ways to limit your exposure, notably using Protected Mode in IE on Windows Vista and Windows 7, and enabling Data Execution Protection (DEP). Changing your IE security zone to “High” will help as well. Here’s what Reavey has to say:

Protected Mode in IE 7 on Windows Vista and later significantly reduces the ability of an attacker to impact data on a user’s machine. Customers should also enable Data Execution Prevention (DEP) which helps mitigate online attacks. DEP is enabled by default in IE 8 but must be manually enabled in prior versions.

Customers can also set Internet and Local intranet security zone settings to “High” to prompt before running ActiveX Controls and Active Scripting in these zones or configure Internet Explorer to prompt before running Active Scripting or to disable Active Scripting in the Internet and Local intranet security zone. You can find details on implementing these settings in the advisory.

Unfortunately, though, he doesn’t detail how to do that. It’s all relatively straightforward to do, though. Here’s how.

Turning on Protected Mode

Turning on Protected Mode in IE 7 and IE 8 is exceedingly simple. Select Tools –> Internet Options, and click the Security Tab. Then check the box next to Enable Protected Mode, as you can see in the screenshot below. You’ll have to restart IE for it to take effect.

Changing your Security zone to high

It’s also quite simple to change your IE security zone to high. Select Tools –> Internet Options, and click the Security Tab. Then move the slider to High. You won’t need to restart IE for this setting to take effect.

Enabling DEP

DEP ie enabled by default in IE8. To turn it on in IE7, and to ensure that it’s on in IE8, select Tools –> Internet Options and click the Advanced tab. Scroll down until you come to the Security section. Check the box next to “Enable memory protection to mitigate online attacks” then click OK. You can see it, below. You’ll need to restart IE for the new setting to take effect.

As for IE6, I don’t have a copy, so can’t tell you how enable DEP from my own first-hand experience. However, according to About.com, right-click My Computer, select Properties, then choose the Advanced tab. Under Performance, select settings, then select the Data Execution Prevention tab. Next, select the option to “Turn on DEP for all programs and services except those I select.” Click Apply then click OK.

Microsoft has also released a tool that turns on DEP. To use it, go to this page and follow the instructions.

Will taking all these steps keep you safe from the Chinese Google-style attack? Not completely, but it will keep you safer than if you don’t do it. At some point, though, expect a patch from Microsoft to fix the problem.

Popularity: 11% [?]

No breach in computer security system: PMO

The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) has said there was “no breach” in the security systems of its computers or those in other central government departments.

Asked about a media report that hackers from China have targeted computers in the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), an official in the PMO denied the report.

“Attempts have always been there to hack our computers, but we have our security systems in place,” a PMO official told IANS.

“There has been no breach on our security system, we are absolutely safe,” PMO media adviser Harish Khare told IANS.

According to a Headlines Today TV channel report, hackers from China had targeted computers in the PMO around Dec 15 last year and “investigators are still coming to terms with the depth of the damage”.

It said the hackers had aimed at the “cream of India’s national security set-up: National Security Advisor M.K. Narayanan, Cabinet Secretary KM Chandrashekhar, PM’s Special Envoy Shyam Saran and Deputy National Security Advisor Shekhar Dutt. The four and up to 26 others were squarely in the crosshairs of the hacking attempt”.

“The hacking spyware itself was embedded in a PDF document. And the Trojan Horse was programmed to carry out an array of functions, including downloading files, accessing emails and passwords and also accessing the desktop from a remote location,” it said.

Popularity: 9% [?]

Microsoft Bing Gets Its Own (Not So Short) URL Shortener

Microsoft has taken a plunge into the URL Shortening market with its own URL Shortener – Binged.it. The massive surge in Twitter’s popularity has bolstered the URL shortening market and it seems that every one wants to have their own short URL.

Binged.it is not yet public and is currently available only for internal use. According to SeattlePi, Microsoft is collaborating with Bit.ly on the URL Shortener. Microsoft didn’t reveal exactly what it wants to do with Binged.it. However, I don’t see Binged.it gaining much traction. The main point of a URL Shortener is to be short. Is.gd is 4 characters, Fb.me (Facebook) is 4 characters, Goo.gl is 5 characters, Youtu.be is 7 characters while Binged.it is 8 characters.

Why Microsoft decided to use a name which is longer than its original domain name (Bing.com) is beyond me. Sometimes, Microsoft’s stupidity can reach baffling heights. This is one such occasion.

Popularity: 6% [?]