February 28, 2009

Does Craigslist Need Better Regulation

Tech Tip 206

Does Craigslist Need Better Regulation?

By Bryan Lambert – Sunday, February 22, 2009

(Part 1) – Fraud and Scams on Craigslist –
What Do These Look Like?

You’re looking for new digs – and know just where to find the perfect place; you want to buy another car, and know just where to search for one. Perhaps you have a place you want to rent or a car Craigslistyou want to sell and you know just the place for advertising them – Craigslist! With their goal of keeping online classifieds local, simple and (for the most part) free, there’s no question about it; Craigslist has become quite an online phenomenon. Constantly one of the top 50 websites sites visited, this website, for one offering local ads, has attracted literally a worldwide following. However, along with this following Craigslist has attracted a very unsavory element of scammers as well.


In this Tech Tip, we’ll be looking specifically at some specific areas of fraud that seem to be hitting Craigslist these days in regards to rentals and items offered for sale

PullQuote206While scams and fraud do occur on many websites where buying and selling occur, they seem to be almost epidemic on Craigslist these days. Though some of these scams may seem obvious, criminals still use them again and again (often accompanied with poor grammar) for the simple fact that they continue to work. Without further ado, here are some of the common scams that are appearing on Craigslist.


For people placing an ad for a rental, some common fraudulent activities are:

  • A person contacts you from out of the area (usually overseas) and really wants to rent your listing. They send you a check or money order over the total amount due rent and then have you send the amount of overage back to them (usually by Western Union or some other wire service); this is a scam pure and simple. You will be out the amount you send back once the check (or money order) is found to be a fake (it is interesting that they send you a check or money order, but want the money "refunded" to them to be wired).
  • A person takes the information from the property you’re listing and relists it as their own. These people are also usually from out of the area. This leads to all sorts of issues as the same property can be “rented” several times – by you (legitimately) and by the scammers.
  • A person actually rents your place then turns around and by representing themselves as the owner, re-rent it to several people before skipping town.


For people looking for a home or apartment to rent:

  • You contact the person from the ad (usually via e-mail) and they explain that they are out of the area, but the place it still for rent. They may ask for key deposits so you can “look” at the place and For Rentthen will often try and create a sense of urgency so they can elicit the bigger ticket items such as security deposits and first and last month’s rent. Really, anything else they can think of and have it wired to them. Usually these ads are ones copied from legit ads either on Craigslist or other rental sites – but at lower (but still believable) rental rates. Like all scams, money leaves your pocket never to return.
  • No Credit CardsYou click on an ad for a very good looking and well priced rental only to be directed to call an 800 number. Usually, these end up being scammers that have no intention of renting the property at the price they listed, but want you to buy “foreclosure what is cialis used for lists” instead. Extra bonus for the scammers if they get a good credit card number with a large limit.
  • Classic bait and switch, even if you literally watched the ad be placed, when you call the property is not available, but this other one is….
  • The person renting the house may be local, but they do not actually own the house. They either just rented it themselves or, worse yet, are advertising a vacant home that someone is trying to sell or that is bank owned. Some may claim that they are renting it on “behalf of the owner” as well. The person “renting” the property collects several deposits, several first and last rents and leaves town. In addition to the money, the scammers now have several key pieces of personal information on the persons scammed.


For people selling or buying an item on Craigslist:

  • Sellers: A person contacts you (usually out of the area) and really wants to buy your item. They offer to pay more than it is worth (works great for small, pricey items that are easy to mail) or “accidently” pay you over the amount and look for you to send the difference back to them (sound familiar? Look at item 1 for personal placing ads for rentals above). Even for large items (such as furniture), they’ll ask to pay with check and arrange to have it shipped to them; again, the check will be “accidently” over the amount asked for, and you’re asked for a refund. It may seem strange for you to be sending someone else money when you were the one selling and that’s because IT IS STRANGE!
  • Buyers: The item is not just a bargain, but it is a BARGAIN (think of a car that is well below the current Kelly Blue Book price or a Car Salesmanlaptop computer at a price too good to be true). This bargain is usually out of the area and would need to be shipped to you. An escrow service is perhaps offered to
    help facilitate the purchase (many are also sent up fraudulently just to facilitate such a scam)

    Bottom Line, you send money-you get nothing.

Some scams and fraud and very easy to detect, but others can be difficult as criminals get more and more sophisticated. This list is by no means complete, but can give you a general outline of some common scams that are still used. Knowledge is power, so it is good to be aware of some of these tactics used by scammers before you put down your hard earned money.

Now that you know what to look for, in next week’s Tech Tip, we’ll look at some ways to avoid scams and fraud on Craigslist.

Who should I notify about fraud or scam attempts?

  • FTC toll free hotline: 877-FTC-HELP (877-382-4357)
  • FTC online complaint form (http://www.ftc.gov)
  • Canadian PhoneBusters hotline: 888-495-8501
  • Internet Fraud Complaint Center (http://www.ic3.gov)
  • Non-emergency number for your local police department.

If you suspect that an item posted for sale on craigslist may be part of a scam, please email the details to "abuse@craigslist.org". Be sure to include the URL (or eight-digit post ID number) in your message.

* http://www.craigslist.org/about/scams

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Bill proposes ISPs, Wi-Fi keep logs for police

February 19, 2009 10:45 PM PST
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by Declan McCullagh

Republican politicians on Thursday called for a sweeping new federal law that would require all Internet providers and operators of millions of Wi-Fi access points, even hotels, local coffee shops, and home users, to keep records about users for two years to aid police investigations.

The legislation, which echoes a measure proposed by one of their Democratic colleagues three years ago, would impose unprecedented data retention requirements on a broad swath of Internet access providers and is certain to draw fire from businesses and privacy advocates.

"While the Internet has generated many positive changes in the way we communicate and do business, its limitless nature offers anonymity that has opened the door to criminals looking to harm innocent children," U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, a Texas Republican, said at a press conference on Thursday. "Keeping our children safe requires cooperation on the local, state, federal, and family level."

Joining Cornyn was Texas Rep. Lamar Smith, the senior Republican on the House Judiciary Committee, and Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott, who said such a measure would let "law enforcement stay ahead of the criminals."

Two bills have been introduced so far–S.436 in the Senate and H.R.1076 in the House. Each of the companion bills is titled "Internet Stopping Adults Facilitating the Exploitation of Today's Youth Act," or Internet Safety Act.

Each contains the same language: "A provider of an electronic communication service or remote computing service shall retain for a period of at least two years all records or other information pertaining to the identity of a user of a temporarily assigned network address the service assigns to that user."

Translated, the Internet Safety Act applies not just to AT&T, Comcast, Verizon, and so on–but also to the tens of millions of homes with Wi-Fi access points or wired routers that use the standard method of dynamically assigning temporary addresses. (That method is called Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol, or DHCP.)

"Everyone has to keep such information," says Albert Gidari, a partner at the Perkins Coie law firm in Seattle who specializes in this area of electronic privacy law.

The legal definition of electronic communication service is "any service which provides to users thereof the ability to send or receive wire or electronic communications." The U.S. Justice Department's position is that any service "that provides others with means of communicating electronically" qualifies.

That sweeps in not just public Wi-Fi access points, but password-protected ones too, and applies to individuals, small businesses, large corporations, libraries, schools, universities, and even government agencies. Voice over IP services may be covered too.

Under the Internet Safety Act, all of those would have to keep logs for at least two years. It "covers every employer that uses DHCP for its network," Gidari said. "It covers Aircell on airplanes–those little pico cells will have to store a lot of data for those in-the-air Internet users."

In the Bush administration, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales had called for a very similar proposal, saying that subscriber information and network data should be logged for two years.

Until Gonzales' remarks in 2006, the Bush administration had generally opposed laws requiring data retention, saying it had "serious reservations" about them. But after the European Parliament approved such a requirement for Internet, telephone and VoIP providers, top administration officials began talking about the practice more favorably.

After Gonzales left the Justice Department, the political will for data retention legislation seemed to ebb for a time, but then FBI Director Robert Mueller resumed lobbying efforts last spring.

This tends to be a bipartisan sentiment: Attorney General Eric Holder, a Democrat, said in 1999 that "certain data must be retained by ISPs for reasonable periods of time so that it can be accessible to law enforcement." Rep. John Conyers, the Democratic chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, said that FBI proposals for data retention legislation "would be most welcome."

Smith, who sponsored the House version of the Internet Safety Act, had previously introduced a one-year requirement as part of a law-and-order agenda in 2007.

A 1996 federal law called the Electronic Communication Transactional Records Act regulates data preservation. It requires Internet providers to retain any "record" in their possession for 90 days "upon the request of a governmental entity."

Because Internet addresses remain a relatively scarce commodity, ISPs tend to allocate them to customers from a pool based on whether a computer is in use at the time. (Two standard techniques used are the Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol and Point-to-Point Protocol over Ethernet.)

In addition, Internet providers are required by another federal law to report child pornography sightings to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, which is in turn charged with forwarding that report to the appropriate police agency.

The Internet Safety Act is broader than just data retention. Other portions add criminal penalties to other child pornography-related offenses, increase penalties for sexual exploitation of minors, and give the FBI an extra $30 million for the "Innocent Images National Initiative."

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February 20, 2009

The Web video showdown: Content providers, cable companies and the users stuck in the middle

February 19th, 2009

Posted by Larry Dignan

There’s a looming showdown over Web video as content providers wrestle with the future as the television business model that has paid the bills for years becomes strained. 

In the last day or so, Hulu has been on a tear as it rips down its content from other sites (Techmeme). First up, Hulu pulled content from TV.com, which is run by CBS Interactive, the parent of ZDNet. I wrote off the skirmish between TV.com and Hulu as big media theatrics–these massive media companies are always pulling content down to prove some point. But then there was Hulu’s move to rip its video down from Boxee. 

For starters, Hulu has every right to make such a move. Hulu–a joint venture between NBC and Fox–didn’t have a formal relationship with Boxee. In an explanatory blog post, Hulu chief Jason Kilar spoke like a man caught in between two behemoths he can’t control. 

Later this week, Hulu’s content will no longer be available through Boxee. While we never had a formal relationship with Boxee, we are under no illusions about the likely Boxee user response from this move. This has weighed heavily on the Hulu team, and we know it will weigh even more so on Boxee users.

Our content providers requested that we turn off access to our content via the Boxee product, and we are respecting their wishes. While we stubbornly believe in this brave new world of media convergence — bumps and all — we are also steadfast in our belief that the best way to achieve our ambitious, never-ending mission of making media easier for users is to work hand in hand with content owners. Without their content, none of what Hulu does would be possible, including providing you content via Hulu.com and our many distribution partner websites.

The big question here is this: Why was the request made now? Peter Kafka asks if the cable companies were behind Hulu’s put-the-Web-video-back-in-the-bottle attempt. 

Jason O’Grady: Hulu’s fantastic suicide

The answer: You bet. 

Here’s the deal: Cable companies pay content providers like Viacom and Disney big money to carry channels. When the economy was better cable companies weren’t going to sweat Web video experiments. It’s a different story today. Here’s what cable companies are facing:

The Wall Street Journal a few days ago chronicled how consumers are saving by ditching the cable service (they’re keeping the broadband service though). And Comcast’s fourth quarter results tell the tale. The cable giant actually saw a net subscriber decline. A lot of the cable problems are tied to the housing market–when you can’t afford to pay the mortgage chances are you’re not paying the cable bill either. Meanwhile, housing inventories are bloated and that also means a bunch of empty homes without cable service and customers that certainly won’t upgrade service. Here’s a look at Comcast’s customer metrics:

Comcast CFO Mike Angelakis acknowledged the troubles on the company’s earnings conference call:

The weak economy is impacting the consumer particularly on housing growth, vacancies and moves, providing us with fewer opportunities to sell new services.

Comcast operating chief Steve Burke expanded on that theme:

This earnings season everybody seems to be talking about the economy for obvious reasons. Instead of talking about the economy, what I’d like to do is be a bit more specific and talk about our marketplace. Our marketplace is affected by the economy and also by the ebb and flow of competition. In talking about our marketplace I’d like to highlight what we’re seeing, what we’re not seeing and also importantly what we’re doing about it.

In terms of what we’re seeing, first of all there’s more competition from the telephone companies, 10% of our footprint a year ago was over built, and today that number is more like 22%. Secondly, we’re seeing more price sensitivity particularly since the month of October. Third, its simply harder to make the phone ring with marketing and sales, customers appear to be defensive, they’re less likely to go out and subscribe or call up for upgrades or new services.

Hence our connects, the people coming into our business our connects are lower then we had planned. Finally, we’re seeing a very difficult ad sales environment that is currently showing no signs of improvement. Those are some of the things we’re seeing.

Burke then went on to list a few positives and noted Comcast can weather the storm–and it can.

But put yourself in the shoes of Mr. Cable mogul. You’re paying carriage fees to content companies that try to squeeze you for more money almost every year. Meanwhile, these content companies are showing video on the Web and kinda sorta monetizing it. Consumers are beginning to use Web video as a cable replacement. It’s only natural that cable companies would apply some pressure on content owners, which have to cave because Web video experiments aren’t paying the bills. 

In the context of dollars, the Hulu moves are perfectly logical. The rub: The Web video genie is out of the bottle and isn’t going back in. But in a rough economy there will be many more video skirmishes in the day ahead and users will be stuck in the crossfire. The television business model is complicated and has been under attack for years. The recession–or perhaps more accurately the decession–will push the content-cable-Web tug of war to the forefront.

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10 flagrant grammar mistakes that make you look stupid

  • Date: March 6th, 2008
  • Author: Jody Gilbert

These days, we tend to communicate via the keyboard as much as we do verbally. Often, we’re in a hurry, quickly dashing off e-mails with typos, grammatical shortcuts (I’m being kind here), and that breezy, e.e. cummings, no-caps look. It’s expected. It’s no big deal. But other times, we try to invest a little care, avoiding mistakes so that there’s no confusion about what we’re saying and so that we look professional and reasonably bright.In general, we can slip up in a verbal conversation and get away with it. A colleague may be thinking, Did she just say “irregardless”?, but the words flow on, and our worst transgressions are carried away and with luck, forgotten.

That’s not the case with written communications. When we commit a grammatical crime in e-mails, discussion posts, reports, memos, and other professional documents, there’s no going back. We’ve just officially gone on record as being careless or clueless. And here’s the worst thing. It’s not necessary to be an editor or a language whiz or a spelling bee triathlete to spot such mistakes. They have a way of doing a little wiggle dance on the screen and then reaching out to grab the reader by the throat.

So here we are in the era of Word’s red-underline “wrong spelling, dumb ass” feature and Outlook’s Always Check Spelling Before Sending option, and still the mistakes proliferate. Catching typos is easy (although not everyone does it). It’s the other stuff — correctly spelled but incorrectly wielded — that sneaks through and makes us look stupid. Here’s a quick review of some of the big ones.

Note: This information is also available as a TechRepublic article and as a PDF download.

#1: low dose cialis cost Loose for lose

No: I always loose the product key.

Yes: I always lose the product key.

#2: It’s for its (or God forbid, its’)

No: Download the HTA, along with it’s readme file.

Yes: Download the HTA, along with its readme file.

No: The laptop is overheating and its making that funny noise again.

Yes: The laptop is overheating and it’s making that funny noise again.

#3: They’re for their for there

No: The managers are in they’re weekly planning meeting.

Yes: The managers are in their weekly planning meeting.

No: The techs have to check there cell phones at the door, and their not happy about it.

Yes: The techs have to check their cell phones at the door, and they’re not happy about it.

#4: i.e. for e.g.

No: Use an anti-spyware program (i.e., Ad-Aware).

Yes: Use an anti-spyware program (e.g., Ad-Aware).

Note: The term i.e. means “that is”; e.g. means “for example.” And a comma follows both of them.

#5: Effect for affect

No: The outage shouldn’t effect any users during work hours.

Yes: The outage shouldn’t affect any users during work hours.

Yes: The outage shouldn’t have any effect on users.

Yes: We will effect several changes during the downtime.

Note: Impact is not a verb. Purists, at least, beg you to use affect instead:

No: The outage shouldn’t impact any users during work hours.

Yes: The outage shouldn’t affect any users during work hours.

Yes: The outage should have no impact on users during work hours.

#6: You’re for your

No: Remember to defrag you’re machine on a regular basis.

Yes: Remember to defrag your machine on a regular basis.

No: Your right about the changes.

Yes: You’re right about the changes.

#7: Different than for different from

No: This setup is different than the one at the main office.

Yes: This setup is different from the one at the main office.

Yes: This setup is better than the one at the main office.

#8 Lay for lie

No: I got dizzy and had to lay down.

Yes: I got dizzy and had to lie down.

Yes: Just lay those books over there.

#9: Then for than

No: The accounting department had more problems then we did.

Yes: The accounting department had more problems than we did.

Note: Here’s a sub-peeve. When a sentence construction begins with If, you don’t need a then. Then is implicit, so it’s superfluous and wordy:

No: If you can’t get Windows to boot, then you’ll need to call Ted.

Yes: If you can’t get Windows to boot, you’ll need to call Ted.

#10: Could of, would of for could have, would have

No: I could of installed that app by mistake.

Yes: I could have installed that app by mistake.

No: I would of sent you a meeting notice, but you were out of town.

Yes: I would have sent you a meeting notice, but you were out of town.

Bonus peeve

I’ll just throw one more thing out here: My current burning pet peeve. At some point, who knows when, it became common practice to say that something is “hit and miss.” Nuh-UH. It can’t be both, right? It either hits or it misses…. “Hit OR miss.” Granted, it’s a small thing, a Boolean-obsessive sort of thing. But it’s nonetheless vexing because it’s so illogical. Okay, that’s mine. If you’ve got a peeve of your own, share it in the discussion (or post a comment and tell me to get over it).

You might also want to check out this long-running discussion to see what grammar gaffes have driven your peers around the bend.

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February 19, 2009

10 things to look for in a domain registrar

  • Date: December 9th, 2008
  • Author: Erik Eckel

When you start looking for a domain registrar, you may discover some surprising differences in what they offer — or neglect to offer. Erik Eckel learned the hard way that it pays to shop around. Here’s his list of the tools, services, and features that will make your job easier.


Having helped create, maintain, and administer Web site and e-mail domains for numerous clients, I’ve come to find that several elements are necessities when working with a domain registrar. Whether complex DNS issues, dreaded SMTP errors, or confusing IP address troubles arise — and no matter how well you prepare, issues inevitably surface — technology professionals need a good, dependable registrar that offers the tools, services, and features required to properly research and resolve these issues.

Toward that end, here are 10 elements to insist upon when selecting a domain registrar.

Note: This information is also available as a PDF download.

#1: Validity

Regardless of how much money some domain registrars might save you — and postal mail and Internet pages frequently tout marketing offers from questionable firms set up overseas — Web and e-mail domain registration isn’t a feature where corners should be cut, even in a down economy. Insist upon working only with reputable and legitimate domain registrars.

If a potential partner isn’t an ICANN-accredited registrar, don’t give them your business. Confirming that a potential registrar is ICANN-accredited helps ensure that your organization receives professional, stable, reliable service from a reputable provider.

#2: Knowledgeable technical support

When all else fails — and trouble will arise when transferring domains, delegating administrative permissions, or just renewing existing services — you need to know the registrar’s customer service department is capable and responsive. Almost all operate toll-free telephone numbers. That’s to be expected.

But when it comes to speaking with a mildly technically proficient support representative, that’s not always a given. Review a domain registrar’s support policies. Some offer live technical chat as well as live telephone support. My field experience has taught me that such additional technical accessibility options save time and angst.

#3: Intelligent DNS configuration utilities

The frustration that comes with trying to make sense of unintuitive and/or confusing DNS configuration tools can quickly prove overwhelming, particularly when e-mail service or Web site access is down. Even if you have to test a domain registrar’s DNS tools using a practice domain you create only for testing purposes, getting familiar with a registrar’s DNS configuration tools and their usage before administering a live site or production e-mail can prove invaluable. Avoid selecting a registrar whose DNS tools prove difficult to access or understand or that are error-ridden.

#4: Delegation tools

Often, organizations prefer to implement a separation of powers when managing domains. For example, senior staff might be the only ones able to transfer a domain, whereas network administrators might need permissions to occasionally update DNS records.

In such cases, delegation authority is required, in which specific permissions can be delegated to respective authorized users. If your organization is likely to find itself in such need, be sure to confirm the domain registrar selected supports such division of responsibilities.

#5: SSL Certificates

Take it from a consultant who’s received four separate bills for a single client’s domain needs; dividing domain registration, e-mail hosting, Web hosting, and SSL certificate services among four vendors quickly becomes confusing. And it’s inefficient and often cost ineffective.

Look for a domain registrar that can collect all these services within a single pricing package. Doing so simplifies recordkeeping and administration and lowers costs.

#6: Web hosting

Increasingly, many organizations are choosing not to invite port 80 public Internet traffic inside their corporate servers. File servers dedicated to user authentication and file and print sharing, while usually capable of hosting Web sites, are often configured specifically not to allow public Web traffic. Foregoing Web site hosting on an organization’s own local server helps secure the box and protect it from countless exploits.

However, most organizations require a Web presence. Just as with e-mail hosting, companies should look for a domain registrar that also offers competitive Web hosting services. For reasonable fees, organizations can keep such Web-related traffic off their main production servers by taking advantage of registrar Web-hosting packages instead.

#7: E-mail hosting

Not all small businesses want to maintain and administer their own servers. Many organizations that do go that route and implement small business servers often don’t want the hassles of maintaining their own Exchange or Sendmail boxes. In such cases, it’s much easier to allow the domain registrar to maintain e-mail services. Thus, organizations that don’t want to assume the challenge or expense of e-mail server administration should look for a domain registrar that can wrap those services within a single, integrated package.

#8: Site-building tools

The site-building tools provided by most leading domain registrars may not be able to create complex Web sites that set new and innovative design trends, but that’s not usually the goal of businesses, SMBs in particular, that need these tools.

Many organizations merely want to launch professional, informational Web sites that improve communications with clients and suppliers. In such cases, expensive Web design firms may not be required. Existing marketing materials may well be leveraged using these registrar-provided tools to quickly launch a simple but professional-looking Web site.

#9: Easily navigable Web site

Look for a domain registrar whose Web site is well organized. It’s not worth saving a few dollars a year if you have to invest an inordinate amount of time trying to chase down the menu for updating MX record entries or similar tools or to change account or billing information.

Look for registrars that have carefully designed their Web sites to group relevant tools by topic. Browse a potential registrar’s site to confirm it is easily navigable. Just because a domain registrar has purchased full-page advertisements in an electronics or tech magazine doesn’t mean its services or domain management tools are intuitive or readily accessible.

#10: Competitive pricing

Competition among domain registrars has been brutal. Consumers benefit, as domain names (complete with forwarding services and even an e-mail address) can be had from reputable registrars for less than $15 or $20 a year.

Be sure to review a domain provider’s pricing policies before committing. Pay special attention to potentially hidden fees, such as for domain forwarding or e-mail services. While price shouldn’t be the chief priority, it’s become a buyer’s how to get cialis market, certainly.

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