Feds Nab Dozens in Bank Phishing Scheme

On October 8, 2009

Feds Nab Dozens in Bank Phishing Scheme

Authorities said Wednesday they have arrested 33 people in breaking up a crime ring in the U.S. and Egypt in which an elaborate "phishing" scam bilked bank customers out of at least $1 million. Federal authorities said a total of 53 people were named in an indictment, while authorities in Egypt have charged 47 others in connection with the scheme.
On October 8, 2009

Madness at Sequenom: Interim CEO Gets a Pay Rise; Stock Rises 18%

Sequenom just announced that all its data is bogus. It is under investigation by the SEC, NASDAQ, the U.S. Attorney's Office and the FBI. The board has fired the CEO, the R&D chief, the CFO, the commercial ops chief and two other execs. The Down Syndrome test development program now has to start over, from scratch. What do you do?
On October 8, 2009

Surprise! Microsoft Security Essentials Doesn’t Suck

We love to rip on Microsoft as much as the next blog, but let's face it: The company has been making all the right moves of late. (Okay, maybe not so much with the hilariously awful Windows 7 House Party video.) Witness Security Essentials, a new anti-virus utility that's fast, effective, and free. When combined with the spyware-fighting Windows Defender (which is now baked into the OS) and the Windows Firewall (ditto), it provides nearly all the security most PC users need. You don't have to take my word for it: Windows SuperSite's Paul Thurrott calls Security Essentials "a near perfect security solution." Meanwhile, check out PC World's review, which concludes: "Microsoft Security Essentials got it exactly right." What pleases...
On October 8, 2009

Amazon, Waitrose: Principles vs Profits?

Two stories, very different, but demonstrating what happens to the supply chain when a large customer in the B2B food-chain gets fed up. Cutting ties with a supplier on point of principle has an impact on the wider community and could draw some unintended fire from critics. First and most recent is the report that Amazon has terminated its long-term contract with the Royal Mail. The contract, apparently worth some £25m, was pulled when Amazon learned that Royal Mail's strike action might harm Christmas deliveries. According to one Mail worker, the strike would secure Royal Mail's future. But losing one of its 'keystone' customers would seem more likely to guarantee its downfall. Other retailers, already concerned about how the recession...
On October 8, 2009

Arabian Nights: Saudis Fret Over Future Oil Demand

Poor nations are banding together to demand aid from their richer peers to help facing climate change, with advocates including the United Nations on their side. But within the crowd of poor countries -- India, Malaysia, Vietnam and so forth -- there's an incongruous voice. You've probably guessed it from the headline. Yes, Saudi Arabia, owner of the world's largest oil reserves, is demanding aid to help cope with climate change. There's something mind-boggling about a country that makes almost a quarter-trillion dollars a year on a single product holding its hand out. But that dependence (oil constitutes 80 percent of revenues, according to the CIA) is what they're worried about. If demand for oil dropped significantly, the economic oasis...
On October 8, 2009

Royal Mail Dispute a Test Case on Employee Flexibility

The Royal Mail union's vote in favour of strike action has undoubtedly caused a stir for being potentially the first big national industrial action of this recession. It will jog memories of other big public sector strikes, but there are a number of issues that make this dispute indicative of the moment, rather than a throwback to the tripartite era of the 1970s, when Labour prime ministers called summits of unions and business leaders at Number 10. Clearly, public opinion will impact on the prospect of a lengthy strike in the company's busiest time of the year and both sides are playing to the fears of the general public. The Communication Workers Union (CWU) has stressed that they are not against...
On October 8, 2009

Ovi ‘Not Available For Download’ Says It All

Gartner analyst Ken Dulaney thinks Android will overtake iPhone but not Nokia in worldwide smartphone sales, but he's only half right. Android will zoom past both by 2012 thanks to superior distribution and the sleepiness and unearned cockiness of Nokia.
On October 8, 2009

Turn an Old Hotel Room-Key Into an iPhone Stand

iPhones, iPod Touches, and various smartphones are great for watching movies and TV shows on planes and trains, but some kind of stand is absolutely essential. (Take it from someone who's spent two hours holding his iPhone at an upright angle.) If you still have your hotel room-key floating around in your pocket, you can pull a Macgyver move and turn it into a solid, stable iPhone stand. Instructables has the instructions, but there's nothing terribly tricky about this: Just fold the card into the shape shown in the photo. (This should also work with any similar piece of plastic, such as a used Starbucks card or gift card.) You may have to fiddle a bit with the folds to...
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