distribute

Anonymous is lashing out today at the FBI and especially at PayPal, urging users of the electronic payments site to dump their accounts.

In its latest "official communique" on behalf of itself and Lulz Security, the hactivist group condemned the FBI for its recent arrests of those charged in connection with hacking attacks by Anonymous in December against PayPal and a host of other companies.

Complaining that the Anonymous "suspects" may face a fine of $500,000 and a possible 15 years of jail time, the group criticized the FBI for equating "adding one's … Read more

Software made by a Chinese company and used around the world by chemical, defense, and energy companies contains security holes that attackers could exploit to hack into critical systems.

In an advisory issued yesterday (PDF), the Department of Homeland Defense warned of two vulnerabilities in software made by Beijing-based Sunway ForceControl (Google Translate English version). The Chinese company makes SCADA (supervisory control and data acquisition) software, which is used in computer systems that control and monitor manufacturing plants and equipment used by different industries.

Discovered by security researcher Dillon Beresford of NSS Labs, the security holes could allow cybercriminals to … Read more

Responding to a recent report from the North Atlantic Treaty Organization condemning Anonymous, the online "hacktivist" group has issued a public response warning the global organization not to challenge it.

Claiming that the NATO report singled it out as a threat to "government and the people," Anonymous defended some of its recent actions in the name of freedom and dissent. In its message (Google cached version), it also asserted that NATO fears the group not because it's a "threat to society," but because it's a "threat to the established hierarchy."… Read more

Mail-order game disc renter GameFly Inc. has announced that it will acquire Direct2Drive, the PC game digital distributor service owned by News Corp. subsidiary IGN Entertainment. The announcement, first reported by Gamefly-owned gaming news site Shacknews, confirms rumors about the acquisition that surfaced earlier in the week.

The two companies seem like a reasonable fit. GameFly is essentially the Netflix of video games, renting out discs for game consoles through the mail. Direct2Drive is a competitor to Valve Software's market-dominating Steam PC gaming download service. Market data on digital distribution services is scarce since the companies don't share … Read more

Apple has been pushing out preview builds of its upcoming Mac OS X "Lion" update through the Mac App Store since late February, and that distribution method could remain when the software is released to the public later this year, according to a new report.

Citing "people familiar with the matter," AppleInsider reports that Apple plans to offer Lion as an update through the Mac App Store, giving those upgrading a chance to skip buying a disc from Apple or another retailer to get the new software.

Apple has already taken numerous steps at cutting optical discs out of the world, both through digital content offerings on iTunes, and the full-on removal of optical drives in notebooks like the MacBook Air series. More recently, the company has been scaling back boxed software in its retail stores--including its own applications--favoring Mac App Store placement and distribution instead. The company pushed a similar, though more drastic strategy in phasing out floppy drives in the 1990s.

AppleInsider's source says the company still plans to offer discs for those on slower connections. The company is also likely to offer such an option for those on Leopard, who therefore aren't able to run and install the Snow Leopard exclusive Mac App Store to grab the update.

Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment. … Read more

Get ready for reliable electricity, and an automated world of electronics, appliances, and buildings, to become the new normal.

That's the main message in a report released today by GigaOm Pro and Pike Research.

Smart-grid applications in six key areas will change the way people use, buy, manage, and think about electricity, according to the report "Smart Grid Apps: Six Trends That Will Shape Grid Evolution" led by Clint Wheelock, Pike Research founder and managing director.

Those electricity-related applications focus on home energy management systems, electric vehicles, distribution automation, smart-grid analytics, building energy management systems (BEMS), and … Read more

BOSTON--For the most part, the world's energy system is highly centralized. Tata Power of India is exploring whether smaller-scale distributed energy can work in a country where hundreds of millions of people don't have access to electricity.

Earlier this month, I met with Avinash Patkar, the chief sustainability officer of Tata Power, which is the power division of India-based Tata, an industrial giant with businesses in steel, software, autos, chemicals, and telecommunications.

As electricity service is extended to more people in India, Tata Power is projecting rapid growth from about 3,000 megawatts of capacity now to 25,… Read more

The FBI is on the hunt for the hackers responsible for a recent wave of cyberattacks launched in defense of WikiLeaks.

FBI agents yesterday executed more than 40 search warrants in the United States as part of their ongoing investigation. Pointing to the group Anonymous, which has taken responsibility for the attacks, the FBI said that the distributed denial of service (DDoS) assaults were facilitated by software the group makes available as free downloads.

Late last year, PayPal, Visa, MasterCard, and other companies were hit by DDoS attacks triggered by activists in support of WikiLeaks after the companies cut off … Read more

Hackers are increasingly hitting the Web sites of human rights and independent media groups in an attempt to silence them, says a new study released this week by Harvard University's Berkman Center for Internet & Society.

Based on a survey of 45 groups, the report "Distributed Denial of Service Attacks Against Independent Media and Human Rights Sites" found that a large percentage said they've been targeted by distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks from those who disagree with their viewpoints. The Web sites typically have been knocked offline for short periods of time but in some cases have … Read more