The Government Doesn't Need Telcos' Help To Spy On Your Cellphones, Thank You Very Much

The Federal Government has used the cell tracking 'Triggerfish' gadget for years now, and sometimes with great success. That's because its an effective, invasive piece of hardware: by posing as a cell tower Triggerfish is able to quickly glean valuable identifying data from phones. Like phone taps, this had previously been thought to have been used only with the telcos' approval, and after law enforcement officials had found "probable cause" to monitor someone. That supposed caveat was a minor comfort to privacy hounds, but as is so often the case with these things, might have been, shall we say, slightly optimistic. More »

Open Source Switzerland Network Testing Tool Catches ISP Throttlers In the Act

As part of an effort to thwart future ISP infractions, á la Comcast, the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) has released Switzerland, an open source software tool for "testing the integrity of data communications over networks, ISPs and firewalls." If you've been following Comcast for any amount of time over the past year or so, you know exactly what that means. More »

EFF Nails Comcast, Shows You How to Bust Your ISP, Too

You may recall Comcast getting busted for interfering with peer-to-peer file sharing communications, especially picking on its users who use BitTorrent. Now the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) has released a detailed report (PDF) that comes close to proving that Comcast was "forging traffic." The EFF describes exactly how its experts used Wireshark, open-source packet sniffing software, to show that Comcast was injecting forged RST packets into their communications, effectively telling both ends to hang up. More »

The EFF'd Up Patent Hit List (10 Sleaziest Patents Ever?)

The EFF is getting ready to battle tech patents that they'd argue should be revoked and are in many cases being used to the extent of abuse. The list has a number of vague patents I'd previously never seen before, but they've also got some big names like Nintendo (emulator patents) and Clear Channel (live recordings of concerts) on the list. The EFF hopes to have some of these patents revoked or altered to more fair effect. [Wired]

Xerox Gets X-Ray Vision on the Web

As if there weren't enough reasons for Web-related paranoia, Xerox just patented a technique to get a demographic lock on you—age, sex, and possibly income—by just looking at the sites you have visited. More »

RIAA Boycott Tip: Donate to the EFF

Now that you've gotten used to not buying albums released by RIAA labels, it's time to do something a bit more proactive. Why not take the $17 you were planning on spending on that Toby Keith record and donate it to the Electronic Frontier Foundation? More »

EFF Responds to RIAA's New ISP Bully Tactics

The Electronic Frontier Foundation, or EFF, has responded to the RIAA's new method of extorting money from people, and, surprise surprise, they don't like it. They take issue not only with the fact that this whole operation is designed to circumvent the law, but also that the RIAA is asking ISPs to keep track of IP records of potential pirates.

EFF and others have long warned that copyright claims could become an altar on which personal privacy is sacrificed. Now the RIAA wants your ISP to voluntarily wield the knife, and there's no telling what else the RIAA might ask for once this cut has been made.

It is indeed a slippery slope, one that we really don't want to be sliding down. The notion of a non-governmental agency having the power to strong-arm its way into your personal internet surfing history is scary, especially when you aren't even notified that it's happening. This could open the door to huge abuses of privacy, turning our private web use into a goldmine not only for greedy sleazebuckets like the RIAA but also greedy sleazebucket marketer researchers and advertisers. More »

Apple 'Thought Police' Give up on Forcing Bloggers to Name Sources

More »

The Corruptables: Don't Let Them Steal Your HD

Oh, EFF, don't you know you can't speak truth to power? Just roll over and take it from the RIAA and MPAA. Sexy little Flash cartoons never helped anyone! More »

Apple's Suit Against "John Does" Set To Be Heard

A San Jose, California Court of Appeal is set to hear Apple's suit against an as-yet unnamed "John Doe" for product leaks in 2004. Apple argues that unlike whistleblowers, who are bringing possible illegal activities to light, internet journalists are just feeding into the public's thirst for rumors. The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), feels that the California Court of Appeals is usually friendly toward the press and should continue to protect their freedoms. We're secretly hoping the internet journalists will win. More »