The Register reports that the “Russian Business Network (RBN) – the [c]ontroversial hosting firm fingered by many as a nexus of malware exploits and cybercrime more generally – has suddenly dropped offline. According to Trend Micro, the Register says, “the infamous network dropped off the net at around 0200 GMT on Wednesday, possibly after its upstream service providers pulled its connectivity. ‘Since then, IP addresses of RBN can no longer be reached because there is no routing for them any longer,’ Trend notes.”
In a different article, the Register claims that “Verizon is shamelessly hijacking web browsers on its new fiber-optic internet service. With posts to the online forums at BroadbandReports and WebmasterWorld, FIOS subscribers [say] that when they carelessly mistype web addresses, Verizon redirects their browsers to its very own ad-driven search pages.”
According to Reuters, a report for industry body GESAC said today that “[a] European Union copyright tax on MP3 players and blank CDs to compensate authors generates benefits and needs only tweaking rather than fundamental reform. […] Top electronics firms including Philips were angered but national collecting societies who pass the tax on to authors and artists were jubilant.”
In an interesting article on the regulation of online ads, the New York Times quotes Randall Rothenberg, president and CEO of the Interactive Advertising Bureau, who warns that “[a]nti-consumer advocates are out to stifle the industry, including the FTC, which wants complete regulation of cookies themselves and could require opt-in stipulations for all online ads. As last week’s hearings suggest, they feel the time for fact-finding is over, it’s now time to regulate.”
BBC News writes that “UK pioneers of research into new materials, green energy and future communications will share a £100m government fund to back innovation. More than 76 research and development projects covering eight technology priority areas will share the money. The money has been made available through the Technology Strategy Board which promotes innovation in business.’