Brand Hijacking

Hijacking Myself

2006-10-25T10:03:00.000-05:00

--AZ-Sen: Jon Kyl

--AZ-01: Rick Renzi

--AZ-05: J.D. Hayworth

--CA-04: John Doolittle

--CA-11: Richard Pombo

--CA-50: Brian Bilbray

--CO-04: Marilyn Musgrave

--CO-05: Doug Lamborn

--CO-07: Rick O'Donnell

--CT-04: Christopher Shays

--FL-13: Vernon Buchanan

--FL-16: Joe Negron

--FL-22: Clay Shaw

--ID-01: Bill Sali

--IL-06: Peter Roskam

--IL-10: Mark Kirk

--IL-14: Dennis Hastert

--IN-02: Chris Chocola

--IN-08: John Hostettler

--IA-01: Mike Whalen

--KS-02: Jim Ryun

--KY-03: Anne Northup

--KY-04: Geoff Davis

--MD-Sen: Michael Steele

--MN-01: Gil Gutknecht

--MN-06: Michele Bachmann

--MO-Sen: Jim Talent

--MT-Sen: Conrad Burns

--NV-03: Jon Porter

--NH-02: Charlie Bass

--NJ-07: Mike Ferguson

--NM-01: Heather Wilson

--NY-03: Peter King

--NY-20: John Sweeney

--NY-26: Tom Reynolds

--NY-29: Randy Kuhl

--NC-08: Robin Hayes

--NC-11: Charles Taylor

--OH-01: Steve Chabot

--OH-02: Jean Schmidt

--OH-15: Deborah Pryce

--OH-18: Joy Padgett

--PA-04: Melissa Hart

--PA-07: Curt Weldon

--PA-08: Mike Fitzpatrick

--PA-10: Don Sherwood

--RI-Sen: Lincoln Chafee

--TN-Sen: Bob Corker

--VA-Sen: George Allen

--VA-10: Frank Wolf

--WA-Sen: Mike McGavick

--WA-08: Dave Reichert

Hijacking Chris Bower's Source Code for "Search Engine Optimization"

2006-10-24T11:53:00.000-05:00

Computer Hijacking

2005-09-15T08:14:00.000-05:00

I've been mucking around a lot lately at work (with clients) on information security issues. Quite a bit of what we are doing is trying to determine standards for industry behaviour. This popped up in my in box this morning, courtesy of Tech Republic and I thought I'd pass it along.

Its called "The Six Dumbest Ideas in Computer Security."

I'd be an idiot to comment on this as it relates to client we advise, but some of this is worth passing along reading, absorbing, and to an extent, (not) implementing.

The six dumb ideas can't really be summed up in pithy phrases -- although they exist in the article, they are worth reading and understanding -- if for no other reason than to challenge the way of current thinking about Info Security.

As he notes:

Computer security is a field that has fallen far too deeply in love with the whizzbang-of-the-week and has forsaken common sense. Your job, as a security practitioner, is to question - if not outright challenge - the conventional wisdom and the status quo. After all, if the conventional wisdom was working, the rate of systems being compromised would be going down, wouldn't it?

Tough to disagree with that.

Is the Wayback Machine Hijacking?

2005-07-28T10:18:00.000-05:00

According to this Findlaw article, a healthcare group has alleged violation of the DMCA for circumventing script designed to thwart archiving by the internet "Wayback Machine."

According to the complaint, employees of Harding, Earley, Follmer & Frailey, a Valley Forge, Pa., law firm, hacked into previous versions of healthcareadvocates.com, a Web site owned by plaintiff Healthcare Advocates Inc. The company helps patients deal with hospitals, insurers and other components of the health care system.

Old versions of the Web site were stored on computers belonging to Internet Archive, a nonprofit organization that preserves creative works in digital form. According to the complaint, Internet Archive uses special software known as a "crawler" program to copy Web sites as they exist at a particular date and time. Visitors to Internet Archive's Web site can use a search engine known as the "Wayback machine" to locate and view the preserved Web sites.

* * * * *

The complaint claims the defendants violated the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, which makes it illegal to circumvent technological measures that protect access to copyrighted works. Here, the complaint alleges, the healthcareadvocates.com site is protected by copyright, and the denial text string is a "technological measure" that protects access to it.

The complaint also includes allegations of copyright infringement, violation of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, trespass and "intrusion upon seclusion" against the law firm, and breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty and negligent misrepresentation against Internet Archive.

(links added)

Senator Obama Hijacked!

2005-07-12T13:45:00.000-05:00

Published for opposition in the June 28, 2005, Register:

Unless I'm mistaken, Obama has no offices at "2506 N. Clark, #445," the address listed for the registrant, Gary B. Peterson.

But more interesting than that, how do are you supposed to pronounce it!?

Oba-maniac?
Obama-nye-ack?

Perhaps its not intended to be prounouned, just displayed on, among other things, ". . . BOXER SHORTS AND FLEECE TOPS . . .."

Now its O'Connor?

2005-06-22T21:19:00.000-05:00

The Weekly Standard says its O'Connor and maybe not Rehnquist. Isn't this the same specuation from roughly 4 years ago?

Rehnquist Already Resigned?

2005-06-22T10:28:00.000-05:00

The Stop Ann Coulter Blog is reporting that Rehnquist has already privately resigned.

According to a source very close to the Bush administration, US Supreme Court Chief Justice William Rehnquist has submitted his resignation to President Bush.

I've not seen reports of this elsewhere, including the SCOTUS Blog.

But, as Matt Drudge says "developing."

An editorial aside: IMHO, Lefties have made a big deal about who the replacement will be, but given WHR's leanings, it would be difficult to swap him out for someone more offensive to the Left or more adored by the Right.

Hijacking a House Mark?

2005-05-12T10:04:00.000-05:00

Recently ousted Habitat for Humanity founder Millard Fuller has founded Building Habitat, which can be found on the web at: www.habitatpartnersunite.com

This Tuesday, Habitat for Humanity sued Fuller's new charity for trademark infringement.

In other (unrelated?) news, Habitat recently announced plans to introduce a new logo.

Says Habitat:

The former logo, featuring two people with upraised arms sheltering a house, has served Habitat well for a number of years, but it was too similar to other marks to allow it to be registered and protected. The new blue and green logo, featuring three people with raised and interlocked arms beneath a sheltering roof, provides for protective registration and will establish a unified look among all Habitat for Humanity affiliates, regardless of size, location or length of affiliation.

National ID Card

2005-05-11T11:18:00.000-05:00

We are one step closer to being under a regime of National ID cards, as the Senate passed the "Real ID Act" -- attached to an Iraq spending bill.

My only hope is that this will be somehow linked to an improvement of our voting system to make fraud less likely.

But I'm not holding my breath.

Admissibility Requirements for Web Pages

2005-05-11T09:16:00.000-05:00

TTABlog notes a recent (uncitable decision) from the TTAB, holding that live testimony is required to authenticate (and thus admit) web-page evidence.

According to the Board:

Most excerpts from Internet websites differ from printed publications, which may be introduced by notice of reliance. Regardless of the ubiquitous nature of the Internet, most website excerpts are not analogous to printed publications because of the fact that the website is always subject to change, i.e., the subject matter of the website may not be the same the next time the website is accessed, whether it is ten minutes or ten days later, and there may be no indication thereon that it has been changed.

Broadcast Flags No Good - Score One for HDTV and Innovation

2005-05-09T07:49:00.000-05:00

From the EFF -- "In a unanimous decision, the DC Circuit Court of Appeals tossed out the broadcast flag, the FCC rule that would have crippled digital television receivers starting July 1." More here.

Yikes

2005-05-06T10:33:00.000-05:00

Source: [Patent] Attorney, Upset At Pending Layoff, Kills Boss, Self

INTA Conference in San Diego

2005-05-06T09:27:00.000-05:00

I'm off to the INTA Conference next week in San Diego. For the life of me, though, I cannot find any references to bloggers or blogging there.

If any of you folks know anything, I'd love to hear about it.

Freeware

2005-04-27T09:35:00.000-05:00

If you are a freeware junkie (some say, "cheapskate") like I am, you'll appreciate this site, listing the Forty-six Best Freeware Utilities.

Is Your Office Green Enough + Google

2005-04-22T15:09:00.000-05:00

What was life like before this crazy invention that links computers all the world wide, by a sort of "web" and lets me ask questions like: "is our office green" and get results like this.

Here are some tips from National University Singapore's "Campus Green Commitee," which point to these tips from the EcoOffice website.

Two of my favorites:

• If printing is necessary, format documents to minimise wasting space, e.g. reducing font size, line spacing of not more than 1.5, smaller margins, etc.

• Print documents on both sides of the paper if your office printers have a double-siding facility.

Happy Earth Day

2005-04-22T14:42:00.000-05:00

On Earth Day, as I sit here in my office writing a brief, I'm wondering what my firm and others like it could do to be more "green."

Although we don't spew many toxins in the air, we are (no more or less than other firms, I suspect, but still are) serial abusers of paper -- faxes, multiple copies of cases, reports, correspondence, etc.

I'm wondering how that can be cut down.

One thing I think could help is reuse of document boxes. I constantly see these things in the trash. I get document productions in these things and then the documents make their way into a file drawer and the boxes get trashed.

If there were a copy service that would come to our office and pick up the old boxes and re-use them for my next copy job (offering a break in price for doing so) I think that I -- who ordinarily has no say over what company we use -- would demand that we use such a company for any of my copy jobs.

Any one else?

MSF Copyright - Update

2005-04-21T13:06:00.000-05:00

I've spoken with someone at Team Oregon, who's informed me that no lawsuit has been filed, although MSF made some claims to copyrights in a letter.

As more develops, I'll update.

Motorcycle Safety Foundation's vs. Team Oregon (not the Copyright Suit)

2005-04-21T09:15:00.000-05:00

I've been looking for information on the Motorcycle Safety Foundation's suit in Oregon related to the (non)use of the MSF's Basic Rider Course (BRC).

I've been reading about as I catch up on the back issues of Motorcycle Consumer News, but haven't found much. I did, though, stumble on this item this morning on another site.

Oregon motorcycle safety program is the best in the nation, according to the preliminary results of a study sponsored by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

It seems that Team Oregon (at least from a non-legal perspective) was right in keeping their own* program.

*Once I know more about the suit and perhaps see the complaint, I can weigh in on who "owns" that program.

RNC Hijacking the W Logo?

2005-04-19T13:32:00.000-05:00

I've not waded through the whole complaint, but it appears that the guy took some steps to protect his work.

Here's an excerpt from the registration attached to his complaint:

Rally Concept's Copyright Registration

Republicans Hijacked My Logo!

2005-04-19T11:41:00.000-05:00

That's what Bush supporter, Jerry Gossett of Wichita Falls

is alleging.

[he] says he pitched his design for a logo to the RNC's supplier of campaign materials, The Spalding Group of Lexington, Ky., in 2001 and to the RNC in 2003, and was turned down.

But in early 2004, he says, a similar logo appeared on a Web site and he traced it back to the RNC. This month, Gossett's Rally Concepts LLC sued in federal court, seeking unspecified damages for copyright infringement and conspiracy.

Tracey Schmitt, the RNC's press secretary, called the lawsuit frivolous.

Although not weighing in on the merits, Gossett doesn't sound optimistic about his chances:

Gossett says he is a loyal Republican and voted for Bush in 2000 and 2004, but has become jaded by his experience.

"The big RNC against little me, there was absolutely no chance to win," he said.

Its not clear what he's seeking in terms of damages or why he's even suing (being a "W" supporter and all). I've not seen the complaint yet, so can't weigh in -- but am looking for a copy and will update when I do.

Missing the Irony? Truthfully, the "Anonymous Lawyer" Ain't a Lawyer

2005-04-07T12:06:00.000-05:00

Today is the first I read of this "Anonymous Lawyer" person, who, as it turns out, is not a lawyer at all, but a law student.

I found out about him from "Ernie the Attorney," who, it seems, met him at the ABA Techshow recently.

According to Ernie others view him as somewhat of an asshole. I'll leave that for you to judge. But ETA likes him because of his -- and this is the part that confuses me -- his honesty. Yes, his honesty.

Am I missing something? Ernie quotes a passage by a now, well-known fictitious personality, who continues to write fiction on his blog, and Ernie pens this gem:

What is it about Anonymous Lawyer that draws the reader in? I suggest it is his forthrightness, his refreshing honesty. Yes, his life is devoid of passion. But he is at least passionate about being completely honest.

I'm with Ernie on the "we live in a world where we gravitate towards assholes who are honest." But are things really that bad so that a really good facsimile of honesty and sincerity are enough? (cue Bill Clinton photo?)

Or, maybe this is all too subtle for my sarcsam detector . . ..

UPDATE:I should clarify here -- my quip with Ernie is not that he likes Jeremy , that Jeremy is an "asshole" or that its odd that Ernie liked Jeremy because or despite Anonymous being (or not being) and asshole. Rather, I simply found it odd that Ernie speculated that folks liked Anonymous because he was "truthful," when in fact, he was a fictional character.

Meta Data

2005-04-06T13:39:00.000-05:00

Folks have posted about Metadata before (e.g., link), but it bears repeating: UNLESS YOU SPECIFICIALLY WANT PEOPLE TO KNOW HIDDEN INFORMATION CONTAINED IN YOUR DOCUMENT -- LIKE WHAT YOU DID TO IT WHEN -- you should strip out meta data from documents that you exhange with courts, clients, and opposing counsel.

In the coming days and weeks, I'm going to focus on:

- what metadata is (for the completely uninitiated),
- why you should care about it (as a lawyer or as the client),
- how you can find it on your documents (MS Word and Adobe PDF),
- how you can remove it from your documents,
- how you can find it on documents you recieve from your clients and from opposing counsel, and
- whether it is ethical to look for it, find it, or use what can be found.

At least one of these (likely the "how you can remove it") segment might also include a "scrawdcast," (e.g., screen + law + broadcast) provided we can get the technology working here, and provided I can find the time to do it properly.

Rules of Golf In Plain English

2005-04-05T21:51:00.000-05:00

I'm a big Bryan Garner fan, having attended several of his writing seminars. Funny guy too. His thing is "plain english," which sounds easy, unless you are most lawyers.

I'm a golfer too, lucky enough to play for this guy

before his teams got really good.

So, I'm kind of suprised that I let this:

slip by unnoticed until its recent mention in our local bar journal. I haven't read it yet, but plan on hopping over to Amazon and picking up a copy soon.

Microsoft on Phishing

2005-03-30T11:10:00.000-06:00

If you are concerned about the security of your identity and finances on the net, you've probably heard about "phishing," or at least know what it is, even if you've never called it that.

Phishing preys on the somewhat paranoid (just because you are paranoid does not mean that they are not out to get you. They do this by the oldest con method in the book -- making them seem like they are there to help you.

So, if you've seen these types of emails:

* Fake e-mail messages from what appears to be your bank or credit card company warning you that they need to verify your account information or your account will be suspended.

* A combination of auction fraud and fake escrow sites. This occurs when items are put up for sale at a legitimate online auction to lure you into making payments to a fake escrow site.

* Fake online sales transactions, whereby a criminal offers to buy something from you and requests that they pay you an amount well over the price of the item they are buying. In return, they ask you to send them a check for the difference. The payment to you is not sent, but your check is cashed, and the criminal pockets the difference. Additionally, the check that you send has your bank account number, bank routing code, address, and phone number.

* Fake charities asking you for money. Unfortunately, many criminals take advantage of your goodwill.

You know what I mean. Well, what to do about them? Thanks to Jeff Beard at the La Tech Guru for pointing to Microsoft's good article on just that, which I highly recommend.

The phishers that I see most have to do with eBay, on which I spent all too much time and money.

Back

2005-03-29T14:26:00.000-06:00

I'm back from Japan. Not nearly as much wi-fi there as I expected -- or broadband, for that matter. And, hotel broadband nailed me for about 2,000 ¥ (that's $20 US). I could only indulge in that once (like the whale tongue -- a one-time thing).

In light of the absence of such access, I feel obliged to plug the one place that did have really good wi-fi for free (and a not too bad lunch either). C Cocquet in Tokyo was a great place to duck the rain and catch up on email over a double espresso (the photo on the site is of the semi-creepy mannequin that sits in one of the benches inside).

Well, I didn't see the JTO (way out in the boonies where tourists rarely venture) nor did I see Sunstar's building or CEO (same issue). More suprisingly, though, despite being at two of Tokyo's busiest train stations during peak rush hours (Tokyo station at 9:00am last Monday and Shinjuku last Friday at about 5:00pm) I saw no Japanese people pushing other Japanese people onto the train (at least not as a profession). Go figure.

The nearly 1,300 pictures we took are being sifted and the highlights will (hopefully) be available soon.