Faulkner Cyberscape Digest 02/11/2000 (fwd)
Missy Harvey
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Date: Friday, February 11, 2000, 4:00 PM -0500
From: Faulkner Mail Server <postmaster@[146.145.40.37]>
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Subject: Faulkner Cyberscape Digest 02/11/2000
CYBERSCAPE DIGEST
Welcome to CyberScape Digest, a roundup of top internet stories delivered
weekly to Faulkner Information Services subscribers.
This issue of CyberScape Digest covers events from Monday 02/07 through
Friday 02/11. Here's what you should know...
DoS Attacks Cripple e-Commerce Sites
Hackers attacked numerous e-commerce Web sites this week. The first wave
assaulted popular Web sites Yahoo, eBay, Amazon.com, CNN, and Buy.com (which
had a very successful IPO despite the attack). The following day, ZDNet and
E-trade went down. The latter outage left some extremely irate users in its
wake, as E-Trade customers found themselves unable to line up trades ahead
of Wall Street's bell--the Web site's busiest time. The hackers used
distributed denial of service attacks. These attacks overloaded servers with
false packets of information requests, making the sites inaccessible for
anywhere from 30 minutes to 3 hours. The FBI is investigating the outages,
and said it would dedicate as many agents as it takes to find the hackers.
The attacks are being dealt with as cyber crimes, rather than acts of
cyberterrorism. Although no motive is yet known, the attackers appeared to
be focusing on disrupting e-commerce. Meanwhile, computer security companies
began making hay of the attacks. McAfee reported that it updated its
VirusScan software to detect the code responsible for launching the
distributed denial-of-service attacks. Users can update their VirusScan
software and thus prevent their own computers from being forced to send such
an attack.
[ http://www.yahoo.com/ ], [ http://www.ebay.com/ ], [
http://www.amazon.com/ ], [ http://www.fbi.gov/ ], [ http://www.etrade.com/
], [ http://www.zdnet.com/ ], [ http://www.cnn.com/ ], [ http://www.buy.com/
], [ http://www.mcafeeb2b.com/ ]
Auction Site Spat Turns Nasty
eBay has long been scrapping with auction portal sites such as Bidder's Edge
and AuctionWatch, claiming that the competitors' search engines slow its
servers and are a violation of its intellectual property. The Department of
Justice is in a preliminary investigation of eBay's practice of blocking the
auction portals and is focusing on whether this practice is
anti-competitive. eBay is now suggesting that Bidder's Edge may have had a
part in bringing the Justice Department into the fray, which eBay calls a
business dispute. Both Bidder's Edge and AuctionWatch have admitted to
speaking with the DoJ's anti-trust division in recent months.
[ http://www.ebay.com/ ], [ http://www.biddersedge.com/ ], [
http://www.auctionwatch.com/ ], [ http://www.usdoj.gov/ ]
FTC Busy Probing Two Companies
One of Amazon.com's subsidiaries came under the scrutiny of the Federal
Trade Commission. Alexa Internet, the subsidiary in question, says it is
cooperating with the FTC. The commission, for its part, refused to comment
on the probe--but two lawsuits Alexa faces may give clues as to its subject.
According to the suits, Alexa's software, downloadable into Web browsers,
tracks a Web surfer's travels on the Internet to offer related Web links and
information--and also secretly sends personal information to other
companies, including Amazon. eToys also garnered its share of attention from
the FTC this week, thanks to two complaints received by the agency. The
first complaint pertained to eToys' marketing of video games and software;
the letter writer seemed concerned that eToys may be marketing items "that
have a rating of `mature' or higher under the Entertainment Software Rating
Board interactive rating system" to children. Items suitable for those 17 or
older earn the "mature" rating. The second letter concerned whether eToys
shipped its customer orders in compliance with regulations applying to
timeliness. Like Alexa, eToys is cooperating fully with the FTC.
[ http://www.amazon.com/ ], [ http://www.alexa.com/ ], [ http://www.ftc.gov/
], [ http://www.etoys.com/ ]
Business Reps Propose Tax Ban
The business members of the Advisory Commission on Electronic Commerce
submitted a proposal that would extend the ban on taxes that single out the
Internet and permanently ban taxes on access to the Internet. The proposal
is in favor of taxing e-commerce transactions if state and local governments
can draft a uniform sales tax law that would simplify the system. Also,
since the Supreme Court has ruled that states can only collect taxes on
remote sales if the seller has a physical presence in the state, the
representatives also suggested that Congress establish a new definition for
what constitutes "physical presence."
[ http://www.ecommercecommission.org/ ]
Internet Merging Spree
Some companies seem to be celebrating the approach of Valentine's Day by
tying the knot. AltaVista found the perfect partner in Transium, an online
navigation firm. Financial details were not disclosed. Corel and Imprise
(formerly Borland) agreed to say "I do" for stock valued at a pulse-pounding
$2.44 billion from Corel. The deal creates a one-stop shop for Linux
applications, development, and professional services. In a deal that might
raise the blood pressure of consumer privacy advocates, Equifax agreed to
pair off with the Consumer Information Solutions Group of R.L. Polk &
Company, putting up $260 million for the match. The provider of consumer
credit information would thus gain North America's largest consumer and
self-reported lifestyle and demographic data bases. Celebrating Valentine's
Day down under, large New Zealand ISP Ihug agreed to merge its Internet and
digital television operations with Force, a NZ cinema, media, and
entertainment company. The deal will go forward in April, with Force putting
up stock valued at US$58.99 million for Ihug. Electronic business software
companies Kana Communications and Silknet Software found that like attracts
like, and agreed to merge. Kana is putting up $4.2 billion in stock for the
marriage. In another like-attracts-like merger, Internet traffic flow
systems maker Visual Networks put up $415 million in stock to join with
Avesta Technologies. The combined company will allow its customers to
improve the performance monitoring of their Internet networks. Finally,
Lycos put up $45 million in stock to attract Valent Software. Valent's
NetClubs software will help Lycos build up its community offerings.
[ http://www.altavista.com/ ], [ http://www.transium.com/ ], [
http://www.corel.com/ ], [ http://www.imprise.com/ ], [
http://www.equifax.com/ ], [ http://www.polk.com/ ], [
http://www.ihug.co.nz/ ], [ http://www.village.co.nz/ ], [
http://www.kana.com/ ], [ http://www.silknet.com/ ], [ http://www.lycos.com/
], [ http://www.valent.com/ ], [ http://www.visualnetworks.com/ ], [
http://www.avesta.com/ ]
Net Privacy to be Exposed
Congress has formed two groups, the Senate Democratic Privacy Taskforce and
the Congressional Privacy Caucus, to discuss possible new legislation and
policies concerning Internet privacy. The groups were formed as a response
to rising concerns over the pace at which technological changes are making
some current laws inapplicable. Privacy in general, including concerns over
financial data, health records, and employment records has reportedly become
a key issue with Americans. The Senate Democratic task force will be headed
by Senator Patrick Leahy and the privacy caucus will be lead by, among
others, Senator Richard Shelby and Representative Edward Markey.
[ http://www.senate.gov/ ], [ http://www.house.gov/ ]
Microsoft Has Busy Week
Microsoft attracts legal scrutiny the way PDAs attract gadget freaks. The
European Union just decided to take a look. The software giant's Windows
2000 operating system serves as the focus of the probe, which will be
directed at determining whether the OS breaks EU competition law. Several
complaints the commission received maintain that the OS is bundled with
other software in such a way that only Microsoft products are completely
interoperable. According to those bringing the complaint, such a product
would grant the company an unfair competitive advantage by allowing
Microsoft to extend its PC operating system monopoly to servers. Speaking of
the Windows 2000 operating system, even though it hasn't been officially
released yet, it's already available illegally. Microsoft claims that it has
already found more than 100 Web sites offering downloadable copies of the
OS. None of this activity slowed down Microsoft's marketing or dealmaking.
The company joined with Radio Shack to offer $400 rebates to Radio Shack
customers who buy computer products and sign up for MSN Internet access. It
also moved to make its Windows Media Player more popular with digital
multimedia sites by adding a feature permitting secure downloads of audio
and video content based on pay-per-use. And, with an eye to the home
networking market, Microsoft agreed to take an equity stake in Itran
Communications, a maker of technologies that enable data transmission
through home power lines.
[ http://www.microsoft.com/ ], [ http://europa.eu.int/ ], [
http://www.radioshack.com/ ], [ http://www.itrancomm.com/ ]
Akamai to Purchase Intervu
Akamai is targeting the streaming media market with its $2.8 billion stock
purchase of Intervu. Together, the firms will be able to support all formats
of streaming media and will have more than 1000 customers, including CNN and
IBM. The companies will also have more than 3000 servers in 100 networks
across several countries, according to Akamai. Akamai will issue 9.3 million
shares of its common stock in exchange for all outstanding shares of
Intervu, and the company headquarters will remain in Cambridge,
Massachussets. The deal is expected to close in the second quarter of this
year. [ http://www.akamai.com/ ], [ http://www.intervu.com/ ], [
http://www.cnn.com/ ], [ http://www.ibm.com/ ]
Lower 'Net Access Fees on the Way for Japan
Japanese telecom giant NTT reported plans to dramatically slash its charges
for unlimited Internet access, a move that will spur growth in Internet use
in the country. High fees for 'Net access have stifled the growth of
Internet use in Japan, where roughly one quarter of the population is online
compared with approximately one-half of the population in the US. As the
virtual monopoly provider in the country, NTT controls the price for the
country's 'Net access. NTT will cut the price of access in half for most
users, while subscribers living near NTT's access points will see their
bills reduced to almost a quarter of what they were.
[ http://www.ntt.co.jp/ ]
Deals Drive the Internet
AOL Europe agreed to work with Nokia and Ericsson on the development of
Web-based mobile services, potentially a huge market in Europe. The deal
comes on the heels of news that Bertelsmann is selling its 50 percent share
of the joint venture back to AOL; AOL Europe will then become a wholly-owned
subsidiary of AOL. Be and Intel joined forces to create an Internet audio
device targeted at consumers; the companies will offer to license the
product to hardware makers. Compaq, CMGI, and SoftNet got together to create
Softnet Zone, a joint venture to sell wireless Internet service in airports
and hotels. Adobe and Palm agreed to integrate Adobe's PDF technologies into
the Palm OS platform, letting Palm users read PDF-formatted documents.
Inspiring some excitement for fans of both auctions and Mickey Mouse,
Disney's Go.com agreed to work with eBay to create Web sites for selling
various Disney memorabilia, including movie props, original animation
drawings, and old passenger cars from theme park rides.
[ http://www.aol.com/ ], [ http://www.nokia.com/ ], [
http://www.ericsson.com/ ], [ http://www.bertelsmann.de/ ], [
http://www.be.com/ ], [ http://www.intel.com/ ], [ http://www.compaq.com/ ],
[ http://www.cmgi.com/ ], [ http://www.softnet.com/ ], [
http://www.adobe.com/ ], [ http://www.palm.com/ ], [ http://disney.go.com/
], [ http://www.ebay.com/ ]
Dell, Nortel Networks Target ASPs
Dell is going after the ASP market, hoping to find a new customer base among
the rash of upstarts offering outsourced applications. The PC vendor formed
the Internet Partner Division, designed to market servers, storage devices,
and IT services to ASPs and other Internet-based businesses. Networking
vendor Nortel Networks also made a move into the ASP market, buy consultant
Dimension Enterprises. Nortel will use Dimension, which focuses on IP
Networking, data center creation, and application integration, to bolster
its Managed Applications Services offering. Managed Applications Services
offers ASPs networking equipment, network-ready applications, network
management software, and professional services.
[ http://www.dell.com/ ], [ http://www.nortelnetworks.com/ ]
Broadband Changing the Face of the Web
The rise in high-speed Internet access is compelling dot-coms to beef up the
content of their Web sites to take advantage of the possibilities of
broadband. Both Salon.com and Excite@Home are gearing up to launch Web sites
targeted specifically to Web surfers with cable, ISDN, or another breed of
high-speed access. Changes in the style of sites include more multimedia
content and more content included per page. The current design of most Web
pages assumes that visitors are using dial-up connections, and therefore
content is typically spread across multiple pages to reduce load times.
Excite@Home is working to expand its content offerings in anticipation of
the AOL-Time Warner merger, which will combine Time Warner's content and
cable lines with AOL's subscriber base to spawn a fierce competitor to
Excite@Home, the current leader in cable-based Internet service. Focused
exclusively on content, Salon.com created a division focused on developing
original content as well as distributing content from partners such as the
Bravo cable network.
[ http://www.salon.com/ ], [ http://www.home.net/ ], [ http://www.aol.com/ ]
IPO Watch: Outages Don't Slow Down Wall Street
Buy.com's IPO missed not a beat despite the company's Web site falling
victim to this week's wave of distributed denial-of-service attacks. Its
stock soared 93 percent, from $13 per share to just over $25 per share.
Pets.com also found a lot to bark about; the online pet company raised $82.5
million with its IPO of 7.5 million shares, tendered for $11 per share.
Petsmart, another online pet company, filed to raise up to $115 million with
its IPO, but did not reveal how many shares it will sell, or the price range
of those shares. Online travel agency Lastminute reported that it will float
its IPO in March. Expect huge demand for this IPO; the company caters to
procrastinators with last minute bargains on flights, hotels, and
entertainment--a real growth market given many people's increasing incomes
and decreasing amount of time for planning ahead. Web site network operator
Snowball.com revealed plans to offer 6.25 million shares for a range of $10
to $12 per share. Thursday was a particularly busy day for IPOs. Witness
Systems, a software company, and Organic, an Internet consulting company,
both saw their stock prices double on their first day of trading. Xcare.net,
a technology-related services company catering to the health care industry,
saw its stock shoot up more than 73 percent. Finally, those waiting for
Digital Entertainment Network's IPO must wait a while longer; the company
requested to withdraw its initial public offering because it has gone
through serious operational and financial changes since its filing.
[ http://www.buy.com/ ], [ http://www.pets.com/ ], [
http://www.petsmart.com/ ], [ http://lastminute.com/ ], [
http://www.snowball.com/ ], [ http://www.witness.com/ ], [
http://www.organic.com/ ], [ http://www.xcare.net/ ], [
http://www.tden.com/ ]
Outage Ticker: Sprint, Datek, Pac Bell
Sprint reported an outage totally apart from those experienced by the large
commercial Web sites earlier this week (see story above). Very early
Wednesday morning, one of the company's routers in Chicago went down. Sprint
did not report the cause of the outage. As of 2:40 PM that same day, the
company was still working to fix the problem but could not provide an
estimated time to repair. Datek also experienced an outage, at first thought
due to the hacker attacks, but in fact simply caused by one of the ISPs the
company uses experiencing an equipment failure for half an hour. Finally,
Pacific Bell Internet's e-mail system has been reportedly malfunctioning
since February 3, delaying incoming messages for a day or more. The company
finally fixed the problem this Monday afternoon, but is still attempting to
track down the exact software glitch that created the problem.
[ http://www.sprint.com/ ], [ http://www.datek.com/ ], [
http://www.pacbell.com/ ]
Cyberscape Dee-Lite: For Valentine's Day
The Internet makes many of life's more traumatic experiences, like trying to
pick the perfect Valentine's Day present, a bit less nerve-wracking. There
are the usual flowers/candy/gift sites for the traditionalists; any good
search engine will turn up more of these than most people can shop at in a
lifetime. Be sure to check the shipping policies, though; with Valentine's
Day falling on a Monday this year, some companies might not be able to
deliver gifts in time if the order is placed too close to the big day. But
one Web site can help hopeless romantics who are also hopeless
procrastinators. Luxury gift-giving site Send.com offers its customers
two-day free shipping, and a same day delivery option on some of its
products. For those of a historical bent, The History Channel traces the
history of Valentine's Day. It also provides a bit of inspiration for
aspiring romantics, displaying copies of love letters from Harry Truman to
his wife Bess. Finally, for sheer quirkiness value, there's eCrush. Designed
to reduce embarrassment and the risks of rejection, eCrush provides a way to
discover whether or not one's feelings are requited. One simply signs up at
the Web site, and confidentially lists the name and email address of the
object of one's desire. That person then receives an email extending an
invitation to sign up at eCrush because someone likes him or her. If the
person signs up, the site plays matchmaker; but if not, the crush remains a
secret. In addition to this service (which is matching over 100 people a day
at this point), the site offers date disaster stories, rejection stories,
cartoons, pick-up lines, and other amusements. Be patient, however, as the
site's pages load slowly.
[ http://www.send.com/ ], [ http://www.thehistorychannel.com/ ], [
http://www.ecrush.com/ ]
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Missy Harvey
Computer Science Librarian
Engineering & Science Library
Carnegie Mellon University
Pittsburgh, PA 15213
http://www.library.cmu.edu/usr/missy/
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