Science and technology news blog

Does this sound like the first nail in Google’s coffin? Microsoft and Yahoo execs must be desperately praying for exactly that. However, eBay’s pulling off its ads from Google may not be as bad as it sounds. Agreed that eBay is Google’s number one client for ads and they must really be feeling like idiots for pulling off that party stunt.

What goes to be seen is if eBay will come back to Google later on. eBay also needs to understand that it is going to lose a significant amount of traffic as a lot of users do come from Google searches. Its also possible that eBay may strike a deal with either Yahoo or Microsoft, or even both. And that would be a real blow for Google.

Online payment service PayPal is preparing to offer its users a new security weapon to help ward off data thieves and phishing scams with a password-generated key fob.Aimed at protecting consumers and members from fraud, the two-factor authentication tool will display a new one-time password in the form of a six-digit code every 30 seconds. Users will enter their password along with their usual credentials when signing on.

This type of security is already common in many financial firms for high net worth clients throughout the United States.

Using VeriSign technology, the device will be free for eBay customers with a business account, but will cost approximately $5 for personal PayPal account holders. If the key is lost or unavailable, users will still be able to login, but only once they have verified their account.

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Microsoft Corp. said Monday it has filed more than 50 lawsuits and other legal actions worldwide against people it says sold pirated copies of its software using online auction sites such as eBay.

The legal actions are the latest in a broad effort Microsoft has taken to curb widespread piracy of programs including the Windows operating system and Office suite. The moves come as Microsoft is seeing the market for its software become more saturated, leaving the company eager to add revenue by curbing illegal distribution.

Microsoft also is gearing up to release new versions of Windows and Office, which remain Microsoft’s biggest cash cows despite the company’s many other lines of business.

The legal actions were being filed Friday, Monday and Tuesday in the United States, Germany, France, the United Kingdom, Korea, Poland and several other countries.

Matt Lundy, a senior attorney with Microsoft’s antipiracy group, said Microsoft works with auction sites including eBay to remove listings for software it believes is pirated, and only takes legal action if the merchants continue to sell the software after that.

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Tiffany and Company, the oldest and the best in vintage jewelry, is prosecuting eBay, the leader in online auction for listing counterfeit jewelry on its website.

Tiffany’s bought two hundred pieces of jewelry through eBay in 2004 only to realize that 150 (three out of four) items were fake. An angry Tiffany’s has filed a law suit against eBay accusing it of not only facilitating the sale of fake items but also charging huge sums of money as fees from the vendors.

EBay contends that it is not under compulsion to take any steps against complaints unless they are made by a party that holds a copyright; in case a buyer purchasing through eBay ends up with a fake item, eBay has no liability towards him. We never take possession of the goods sold through eBay, and we don’t have any expertise, said Hani Durzy, a spokesman for eBay. We’re not clothing experts. We’re not car experts, and we’re not jewelry experts. We’re experts at building a marketplace and bringing buyers and sellers together. (more…)

When it was first launched, the online auctioning site eBay seemed to be one of the greatest ideas in electronic commerce. However, in time, people discovered that eBay, though very cheap, is a very unsafe place to buy.

Thus, since the company cannot control everything that goes on, many sales are nothing more that scams. One example is the new and popular Xbox 360, which sellers advertised for high prices. When a user bought the product for around $600 all he got was a picture. Though eBay tracked down those sellers, it was too late for some users.

Not long ago another case was filed where Jacqui Rogers, a retiree in southern Oregon, as a vintage jewelry fanatic, purchased 10 butterfly brooches made by a well know company called Weiss. When it arrived, Ms. Rogers found out he had received not what she was hoping for. While advertised as vintage the product was found to be fake, and that all the pieces where knockoffs. Even though Ms. Rogers did receive a refund from the seller, not everyone is that lucky. (more…)

An Oregon man has pleaded guilty to using a computer worm to launch attacks against Internet auction site eBay Inc., the U.S. attorney’s office handling the case said on Wednesday.

Anthony Scott Clark, 21, pleaded guilty to intentionally damaging a protected computer, a crime with a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a fine of up to twice any losses incurred, according to the U.S. Attorney for the northern district of California.

In July and August 2003, Clark and accomplices infected about 20,000 computers with a worm, a type of malicious program that allowed them to direct the machines to visit eBay.com, overwhelming the popular Web site, the attorney’s office said.

EBay spokesman Chris Donlay declined to say what kind of damage the attacks caused, but welcomed news of the plea. “We take the protection of our Web site and our community of users very seriously and we think this case will send a pretty clear message that we will pursue anyone who attempts to do this kind of thing,” Donlay said.

Luke Macaulay, a spokesman a the attorney’s office, said damages were estimated to be between “tens of thousands and millions” of dollars, and that a judge would decide on the amount during Clark’s sentencing hearing in April 2006.

Skype, which was acquired by eBay for $2.6 billion last summer, is late to the video game—AOL, Yahoo and others have been offering video calling for some time—but said it intends to make video more ubiquitous. Skype-certified Webcams will be available from Logitech online and from Creative in Europe, through retailers, the company said.

Peer-to-peer VoIP provider Skype today launched the beta version of its 2.0 software, which includes video calling and is designed to be easier to use. The company also announced partnerships with Webcam makers Logitech and Creative and weblog software and services company Six Apart.
“At Skype, we want to make talking over the Internet the most natural, simple thing for people all over the world to do,” said Niklas Zennstrom, CEO of Skype, in a prepared statement. “With the release of our new software, it’s never been easier for people to talk to one another for free, and now they can see each other with video as well.”

Skype, which was acquired by eBay for $2.6 billion last summer, is late to the video game—AOL, Yahoo and others have been offering video calling for some time—but said it intends to make video more ubiquitous. Skype-certified Webcams will be available from Logitech online and from Creative in Europe, through retailers, the company said. (more…)

EBay Inc. founder Pierre Omidyar and his wife Pamela on Friday said they gave $100 million in eBay stock to Tufts University to create a fund that will invest in international microfinance, or lending to people who are too poor to qualify for traditional loans.

Tufts will keep 50 percent of the fund’s income, while the other 50 percent will be reinvested in new microloans.

The stock in the online auctioneer will be sold incrementally over time, according to a spokeswoman for Omidyar.

The couple expects the Omidyar-Tufts Microfinance Fund, in addition to supporting their alma mater, to spark a cycle of investment that could exceed $1 billion over the next decade, as loan capital is repaid with interest and lent out again.

“Microloans enable the poor to lift themselves out of poverty through entrepreneurship,” said Omidyar in a statement, adding that “the microfinance industry can be a profitable business.”

The Omidyars are trying to boost investment in microfinance by showing institutional investors how profitable it can be.
Microfinance loans average $600 and are typically used by struggling entrepreneurs to sustain and grow their businesses.

The couple founded its investment group, the Omidyar Network, in June 2004, to invest in areas such as microfinance, open source technology and transparency in government.