Headline News Archive

2010

September

23

• Facebook fixed privacy problems, Canada says. Canada's privacy commissioner said Wednesday that Facebook has resolved concerns she raised a year ago over third-party access to the social networking service's users. Jennifer…

22

• Free anti-virus protection spurs more robust options. With cyberattacks saturating the Internet, a dramatic shift is underway in the $7 billion-a-year anti-virus industry — and it's all good news for consumers. There's…

21

• Code that tracks users’ browsing prompts lawsuits. Sandra Person Burns used to love browsing and shopping online. Until she realized she was being tracked by software on her computer that she thought…

20

• Feds gain power over billions in Medicare fraud. Proposed regulations being unveiled today seek to crack down on Medicare and Medicaid fraud by subjecting operators of certain medical firms to fingerprinting and stopping…

18

• How to protect your child's privacy online. Websites popular among children and teens place more tracking technologies on users’ computers than do the top websites aimed at adults, a Wall Street Journal…

14

• Privacy group sues over NSA-Google relationship. The National Security Agency should divulge information about its reported agreement with Google Inc. to help the Internet company defend itself against foreign cyber attacks,…

13

• Search takes a social turn. Now, even on the Internet, it is not what you know but who you know. After a decade when search engines ruled supreme — tapping…

11

• As credit scores fall, credit-repair scams flourish. Recession-hammered homeowners' credit scores are on the decline across the country, say scoring industry experts, and that makes more consumers vulnerable to scams that purport…

07

• Travel industry uses Facebook and Twitter to reach you. Booking a flight? Go on Facebook. Running late to the hotel? Send a tweet. Hotels, airlines and other segments of the multibillion-dollar travel industry are…

August

30

• Blocking out online friends. Esthela Gonzalez's friends are talking to her, but she's not listening. The chatter is coming at Gonzalez not over a cup of coffee or at…

29

• Retargeting ads follow surfers to other sites. The shoes that Julie Matlin recently saw on Zappos.com were kind of cute, or so she thought. But Ms. Matlin wasn’t ready to buy and…

27

• For a 'free gift card,' simply give away your personal information. You've probably heard it a thousand times: There's no free lunch. But sometimes it helps to get a little reminder. And so we turn our…

26

• Hackers invade iTunes accounts. Cybercriminals are stepping up the hijacking of Apple iTunes accounts, often leaving consumers distraught. Hijackers buy iTunes logons from e-mail phishers expert at tricking you…

23

• Tougher medical privacy rules sought. The Obama administration is rewriting new rules on medical privacy after an outpouring of criticism from consumer groups and members of Congress who say the…

20

• A health insurance lesson for students. Unless your soon-to-be-roommate mentioned on Facebook that she has a mysterious and potentially contagious rash, you probably haven't given much thought to what you'll do…

• Work claims by disabled hit high. More people with disabilities filed charges of discrimination against their employers last year than at any other time in the 20-year history of the Americans…

19

• Wireless fraud uncovered in Chinese community (Chinese). (本報記者黃偉江三藩市報道)手機已成為日常生活必備品，尤其是新款智能手機層出不窮備受消費者追捧，但同時針對華人的手機交易詐騙個案今年卻出現明顯上升。消費者權益組織「消費者行動」今年以來已接到超過40宗相關投訴，該組織代表張毓潔提醒說：「如果看到大幅優惠廣告，例如退款300元、免費贈送最新款智能手機時，消費者可要打起精神了。」 不法商人的欺騙手法雖然多種多樣，但有一點不變的是，都利用消費者喜歡大優惠、高折扣的心理。張毓潔昨日向本報指出，在今年收到的各宗投訴個案中，受害者多為不諳英語的華裔新移民和一些長者，而大部分涉嫌詐騙者多數不是幾家主要通訊公司的授權代理商。

• Facebook 'Places' knows where you are. PALO ALTO, Calif. — Facebook introduced a long-anticipated service called Places on Wednesday that could help the company tap local and small-business advertisers and sharpen…

• Celebrity searches invite online dangers. If you're looking for Cameron Diaz, Julia Roberts or Jessica Biel online, look out! The movie stars top the latest list of the most dangerous…

16

• Google-Verizon plan raises privacy fears. When elephants fight, the saying goes, only the grass gets trampled. Last week, two elephants — Google and Verizon — came together to propose a…

• Second credit report not required for mortgages. Mortgage giant Fannie Mae said Friday that lenders who sell mortgages to the company are not required to run a second credit report before a…

15

• How FTC debt settlement rules protect you. The advertisements for debt settlement are nearly irresistible to the overextended. They make the process sound almost painless; some even promise that government programs will…

09

• Angry customers venting online. You've been cheated or mistreated by a business, and no one from the company seems to care. Now what? Thousands of jilted consumers have turned…

• Consolidating financial accounts may not be ideal. Q: I have opened a number of accounts with several brokerages and mutual fund companies. Is it worthwhile to consolidate those accounts with a single…

08

• Online coupons aren't always great idea. Never pay retail. The marriage of the Internet and advertising has created a hot new trend — coupons that you buy to get deep discounts…