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Companies cut out middlemen with adware
Marketers appeared to be directly responsible for more than half of the popup and other online advertisements run through so-called adware networks, reducing the companies' ability to plausibly deny knowledge of that connection, a report has found. Critics say adware has become one of the top scourges of Internet use because it can degrade computer performance, track a user's browsing habits and mysteriously appear on computers without a user's knowledge. Major companies often blame an intermediary when they are found to advertise through such programs. But the Center for Democracy and Technology said 55 percent of the ads used no intermediaries.
Google to provide warnings on some spyware
Google is issuing this warning to people who try to click on links to sites with spyware and other malicious code: "The site you are about to visit may harm your computer!" Users can search again, learn more about malicious code at the site StopBadware.org or proceed to the suspect site - at their own risk. Google said its initiative is just starting and is by no means comprehensive. Google is one of the main sponsors of StopBadware.org, a project that researchers from Harvard and Oxford universities are hoping to turn into a clearinghouse for information on spyware.
Floridians do well at hackers' convo
Floridians made some waves at the recent DefCon hackers' conference in Las Vegas. Jordan Wiens and John Sawyer, both University of Florida security engineers, were part of the winning team in the Capture the Flag competition. The University of South Florida's Whitehatters Computer Security Club won its first competition in the Amateur Capture the Flag event. The idea behind the competition is to protect your network while attacking opponents'.
Contact us, computer groups
Personal Tech is updating its list of the region's consumer-oriented computer user groups. Send the following information to personaltech@sptimes com: Name of organization; when the group meets such as fourth Tuesday of the month; time of the meetings; location, including address; and contact information, such as e-mail, phone and/or Web address. The list will be posted at www.sptimes.com/blogs/tech.
Join Tech Times discussion
For tech news, links and comments throughout the week, join Times technology editor Dave Gussow at the Tech Times blog (www. sptimes.com/blogs/tech). We invite you to join the conversation by posting your comments and questions. For video games, visit Josh Korr's blog (www.sptimes.com /blogs/videogames).