Leave Britney Alone!!!!!! »
There will come a day, I’m sure, when anthropologists and historians will study spam.  Spammers must craft content that intrigues us enough to click on links and risk infecting our computers.  Spam, unfortunately, contains a snapshot of our interests as a society at this particular day and age. Take, for example, a new spam [...]

Special Olympics Blows It with Tropic Thunder Boycott »
Advocates for the intellectually disabled, led by Special Olympics, are boycotting the movie Tropic Thunder because of the use of the word “retard” in the movie.  The boycott has received a fair amount of press coverage, but I learned that they are simultaneously launching a “Change the Conversation . . .  Stop [...]

More Math Homework Does Not Help Average Achievers Increase Test Scores »
Some schools are trying to make students pass state-mandated math tests by giving them extra homework; it might not be working for average achievers, a study found.

A little something Old Skool »
It’s getting more and more rare in the lab these days to see a genuinely pointless piece of malware that makes no attempt whatsoever to extract cash from its victims, but we spotted one this morning. We received an exe file,  ‘hilariously’ named “dontopen.exe”. Obviously we recommend that with an unknown file like this one you resist the temptation, but naturally I [...]

Pwning the clipboard - latest trick used in FakeAlert distribution »
There are certain notorious threats for which the mere mention of their name can make malware analysts groan - Zlob, Pushdo, Dorf (aka Storm) to name but a few. Just recently, a new class of malware is starting to have that same effect - we are seeing an abundance of ‘fake alert’ trojans. This [...]

When Professors Create Social Networks for Classes, Some Students See a ‘Creepy Treehouse’ »
Professor realize that Facebook, Twitter, and other online tools must be approached carefully.

A Closer Look at Facebook Events »
Facebook is fast becoming a popular way to publicize an organization’s event, invite guests, and track who plans to attend. Facebook Events may be just what your group needs—but could you be shutting out some of the people who might support your event?

Does Open-Source Software Fall Down on Usability? »
This is the second part in our series taking a closer look at free and open-source software : the real costs, the barriers, and the trade-offs; the best FOSS alternatives to “brand name” software; and the resources to help you make the most of it. One

ARL Report Wants to Help Authors Deal With Embargo Policies »
The ARL has released a report to help NIH-granted authors meet both the embargo agreements of 12 publications and the NIH request of open access.

Context Collapse »
In face-to-face communication events we carefully assess the context of the interaction in order to decide how we will act, what we will say, and how we might try to construct and present ourselves. As Erving Goffman has demonstrated, we continuously and often unconsciously take note of the physical surroundings, the people present, and the overall tone and temper of the scene among many other things (1959).

Management Professor Using ‘Crowdsourcing’ to Write Textbook »
More than 900 authors in 90 countries will collaborate to create a management textbook.

Missing Flash Drive From Community College Puts 15,000 at Risk of Identity Theft »
Arapahoe Community College misplaced a flash drive with sensitive information from 15,000 current and former students.

MIT Students Ordered to Reveal How They Hacked the Boston Subway »
MIT students are ordered by a judge to turn over a paper describing a way to hack the Boston subway system.