Brian Caulfield found that a company called Selerity got Microsoft's earnings early, before they were officially announced. But they did not hack their way in or steal them, they just guess the name of webpage, or URL, that had the earnings posted on them.
There is a fairly common practice to create web pages that are published and live, just not yet linked to main pages. The pages exist, you just have to know how to find them.
The Selerity company actually searches for earnings releases using technology to try to guess the earnings webpage name.
Selerity reported Microsoft's earnings at 2:50 EST. Microsoft usually reports them at the close of the stock market.
Sources:
"How Selerity Got Microsoft’s Earnings Early", Brian Caulfield, Shiny Objects on Blogs.Forbes.com, January 27, 2011.
Online safety. Online security. Protecting Yourself Online. Protecting Kids Online. Keeping the U.S. Safe from Cybercreeps. Cybercrime. Protecting Against Fraud.
Showing posts with label Microsoft. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Microsoft. Show all posts
Friday, January 28, 2011
Friday, December 10, 2010
Microsoft Announces More Privacy Controls
Microsoft announced that Internet Explorer 9 addresses the privacy concerns of its customers. The feature is called "Tracking Protection".
Consumers will be able to list websites that they want to limit what can be tracked about them when they visit. The product will show them a list of sites and customers can click to choose what is okay to track and what is not or block a site from tracking altogether.
The browser will not come pre-loaded with any lists but Microsoft says they will provide a forum for consumers to share lists with each other of sites they have noted for turning tracking protection on.
The beta version of IE9 is expected early next year.
You have features you can use today if you are concerned about your privacy.
Many browsers offer "opt out cookies"
Google offers an option under their ads where you can opt out of their tracking
It will be interesting to see what the advertising and marketing firms will need to do to stay relevant as various privacy schemes go into place.
Sources:
"Providing Windows Customers with More Choice and Control of Their Privacy Online with Internet Explorer 9", Microsoft's website, December 7, 2010.
"Microsoft Builds Online Tracking Blocking Feature Into IE9", Ryan Singel, Wired, December 7, 2010.
Consumers will be able to list websites that they want to limit what can be tracked about them when they visit. The product will show them a list of sites and customers can click to choose what is okay to track and what is not or block a site from tracking altogether.
The browser will not come pre-loaded with any lists but Microsoft says they will provide a forum for consumers to share lists with each other of sites they have noted for turning tracking protection on.
The beta version of IE9 is expected early next year.
You have features you can use today if you are concerned about your privacy.
Many browsers offer "opt out cookies"
Google offers an option under their ads where you can opt out of their tracking
It will be interesting to see what the advertising and marketing firms will need to do to stay relevant as various privacy schemes go into place.
Sources:
"Providing Windows Customers with More Choice and Control of Their Privacy Online with Internet Explorer 9", Microsoft's website, December 7, 2010.
"Microsoft Builds Online Tracking Blocking Feature Into IE9", Ryan Singel, Wired, December 7, 2010.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)