spies

commentary Mark Hurd is now a Silicon Valley symbol for self-destructive behavior.

On Friday, The Wall Street Journal and Fortune magazine published detailed reports on what prompted the HP board to ask then-CEO Hurd to resign in August. The stories paint a picture of a reckless man who was given the trust and support of HP's board only to repay that trust with betrayal.

The reports should finally silence the critics who slammed HP's board after Hurd was forced out of HP, after five years as CEO. Up to now, we knew few details about what led up … Read more

A Pennsylvania school that was caught secretly snapping photos of students via laptop Webcams will not face criminal charges in the case.

Triggered by complaints and a civil suit by Harriton High School student Blake Robbins in February that he was photographed at home without his knowledge, the FBI and local officials launched an investigation to determine if the Lower Merion School District illegally misused the Webcams.

But federal and local prosecutors looking into the incident were unable to prove criminal intent on the part of school employees and therefore could not prosecute the case, according to U.S. Attorney … Read more

Search engine optimization tools help Web site administrators attract visitors through a high ranking on major search engines like Google and Bing. Link-Assistant's SEO SpyGlass Enterprise is a powerful backlink checker that analyzes top-ranked sites to learn what makes them successful; in effect, the program legitimately "spies" on sites to copy their methods and uncover the high-quality links that drive keyword searches to their sites. The program uses that and other data to create a highly focused Web site optimization strategy in 30 minutes or less, claiming to save time over doing it all manually, step-by-step, as … Read more

Security suite maker Webroot, best known for its Spy Sweeper program, on Monday finally released the long-delayed upgrades to to its PC security programs, updating its line in a bid to make it more competitive and relevant in an increasingly crowded security field. Webroot also introduced a new program, Internet Security Complete 2011, which provides tools that go far beyond basic threat detection and removal.

The programs offer multiple levels of protection. The simplest is Webroot Spy Sweeper, which focuses on spyware detection and removal. Webroot AntiVirus with Spy Sweeper is analogous to basic programs like Norton Antivirus and combines … Read more

One of the first applications built to find and remove malware and spyware, Ad-Aware's reputation is well-justified. The latest version continues the publisher's tradition of adroitly addressing user concerns, but flaws remain.

Building on the improvements made in version 8, former Ad-Aware users should be glad to hear that the program installs faster than before. This version of Ad-Aware offers two new features to users of the free version that had previously been restricted to the paid upgrades: antivirus protection, and a long-awaited scheduler. The AV protection comes courtesy Sunbelt, makers of Vipre. Ad-Aware 8.3 loads faster … Read more

A 12th alleged Russian spy recently identified by the U.S. government has a tech connection: he worked for Microsoft.

Alexey Karetnikov has been deported to Russia because federal investigators believe he was "in the early stages" of alleged espionage, The Washington Post reported Wednesday. The paper's anonymous government source asserted that Karetnikov had "obtained absolutely no information" while he was in the United States.

Karetnikov had been in the Seattle area and working for Microsoft as a software tester since October, the Post said. Microsoft confirmed to the Post that Karetnikov was, in fact, … Read more

I have met one or two spies over the years. I think of it as the law of averages. And beverages.

Live in enough places and get involved in enough businesses and bars and, well, someone must have a hidden agenda, right?

So the story of Anna Chapman, the alleged Russian Mata Hari with a wickedly inviting mien, has naturally been one of the more captivating elements of the week.

Chapman is accused, among other things, of taking her laptop to coffee shops and transmitting all sorts of secrets to fellow Russians who might not have had American fellowship as … Read more

The FTC has settled its two-year-old lawsuit against keylogger vendor CyberSpy, allowing the company to continue to sell its RemoteSpy product but placing a few conditions on its use.

Announcing the settlement Thursday, the Federal Trade Commission said it "put the brakes" on the business practices of CyberSpy Software, which was sued by the FTC in 2008 over the sale and advertising of its RemoteSpy keylogger software.

Promoted as a computer monitoring product, RemoteSpy can capture keystrokes, passwords, and other information from unsuspecting users. The FTC had alleged that CyberSpy violated the FTC Act by allowing customers to … Read more