technology

Google Folds Wallet Support Into Gmail So You Can Send Money As Attachments

"According to a post on the official Google Commerce blog, Google Wallet support has been baked into Gmail, so users will soon be able to send each other money by simply shooting each other emails. In the coming weeks and months, a dollar sign will start popping in Gmail accounts of people who already use Google Wallet, and a quick click lets users define the recipient and the amount they’d like to send along as an attachment. Since all of these transactions run through Google Wallet, the usual caveats are in place — sending funds from a connected bank account is totally gratis, but credit or debit cards are subject to an additional 2.9 percent fee." Continue reading →

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The Feds Are Cracking Down On Mt. Gox (Not On Bitcoin)

"It’s important to note here that Homeland Security is not cracking down on Bitcoin itself, just on how it’s being exchanged by Mt. Gox. This is actually good news for Mt. Gox’s US-based competitors, such as Seattle-based CoinLab and San Francisco-based Coinbase, Bitcoin exchanges that have registered with the Treasury Department as money transmitters and thus are in the legal clear to conduct Bitcoin $ exchanges. Mt. Gox’s legal troubles don’t seem to be affecting the value of Bitcoin, which has been hovering in the $115 range for the last week." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingThe Feds Are Cracking Down On Mt. Gox (Not On Bitcoin)

Amazon Launches Its Own Virtual Currency Called Coins

"Amazon has launched its own currency called Amazon Coins, MailOnline reports. It's currently only available for US Kindle Fire owners, but the Coins can be used to pay for games, apps and in-app purchases from the Amazon Appstore. One Amazon Coin is worth one penny, and Kindle Fire owners are getting 500 Coins ($5) for free as part of the launch. The Coins will also be able to be used on the company's retail site when they become more widely available. Amazon Coins can be bought in batches of 1000, 2500, 5000 and 10,000. The more you buy, the bigger the discount and 10,000 Coins costs $90, for example." Continue reading →

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Granite State ‘Bitcom’ trio counting on virtual currency Bitcoin

"Their invention, the Bitcoin Machine, is gaining widespread attraction within the community of Bitcoin users after its debut at the third international Bitcoin conference, 'The Future of Payments,' in San Jose, Calif., May 17-19. The machine allows users to insert currency into a bill validator, a common component of any vending machine. The machine calculates the value of the currency and displays a QB code (those fancy bar codes that mobile devices can read). Customers 'read' the QB code with their mobile device, and Bitcoins are deposited into their virtual 'wallet' based on the value of Bitcoin per dollar at that moment." Continue reading →

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The Digital Trap in your Offshore Plan

"It is concerning to see people contacting their offshore lawyers, real estate agents, investment professionals, bankers, etc. using their Gmail, Yahoo, or Hotmail account. Even more concerning is how many offshore professionals were using these free US email accounts themselves. When I told these providers that US law enforcement authorities could access any emails over 6 months old without a warrant in any US-based email account, they were, by and large, surprised. Many discussions took place on how to help protect themselves and their customers by moving their email communications offshore, just like other services." Continue reading →

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Video Now Missing From Confiscated Phone In Beating And Murder Of David Silva By Police

"Responding to what he called a case that 'has consumed the media and our community,' Kern County Sheriff Donny Youngblood said Tuesday he has asked the FBI to conduct a 'parallel' investigation into the death of Bakersfield father of four David Sal Silva, who died May 8 after he was beaten by deputies. Youngblood’s call to the FBI — he termed it 'unprecedented' — was made after it was discovered that video evidence expected to be found on one of two cell phones confiscated last week from witnesses was not present on the phone." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingVideo Now Missing From Confiscated Phone In Beating And Murder Of David Silva By Police

How to stop the FBI from reading your email

"One option is to encrypt messages before sending them, which can make them indecipherable as they are transmitted across servers. Such messages can only be read after the recipient unlocks the message with an encryption key. Given that authorities can only access emails that have been stored on a server for more than six months, privacy experts say another option is to delete older emails or store them directly on a hard drive (which is protected by the Fourth Amendment). One final option is an 'offshore email account.' Servers operated in other countries would not be subjected to the same rules as those based in the U.S." Continue reading →

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California cops defend seizing video depicting fatal beating case

"Authorities in Kern County, California are defending themselves against criticism for confiscating cell phone video of seven sheriff’s deputies’ fatal encounter with a 33-year-old man. But witnesses to the May 8 incident involving the deputies and 33-year-old David Silva said deputies overstepped their bounds in gathering that evidence. A witness told the Bakersfield Californian that two detectives entered her apartment to seize video taken by her boyfriend and blocked the entrance, then demanded her mother’s phone. Another witness gave the family surveillance footage taken near the site of the encounter that shows deputies hitting Silva with their nightsticks." Continue reading →

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Internet giant Amazon hit by first strike in Germany

"German employees of Amazon staged their first-ever walkouts on Tuesday as the US Internet retail giant was hit by a dispute over pay. Employees at two logistics centres in Bad Hersfeld and Leipzig launched a strike with the start of the early shift at 6:00 am (0400 GMT), the giant services sector union Verdi said. In Bad Hersfeld, strikers planned to march to a rally in the city centre at around 11:00 am (0900 GMT), while employees in Leipzig rallied in front of the warehouse. Verdi is demanding that Amazon’s 9,000 employees in Germany be paid according to a sector-wide wage deal for the retail and mail-order industries." Continue reading →

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Internet Explorer 0-day attacks on US nuke workers hit 9 other sites

"Attacks exploiting a previously unknown and currently unpatched vulnerability in Microsoft's Internet Explorer browser have spread to at least nine other websites, including those run by a big European company operating in the aerospace, defense, and security industries as well as non-profit groups and institutes, security researchers said. The revelation, from a blog post published Sunday by security firm AlienVault, means an attack campaign that surreptitiously installed malware on the computers of federal government workers involved in nuclear weapons research was broader and more ambitious than previously thought." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingInternet Explorer 0-day attacks on US nuke workers hit 9 other sites