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Amateur hacker takes credit for cracking BART police Web site
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Cell Phones, Internet
BART's troubles with Anonymous hackers continued Wednesday with the apparent hacking of a BART Police Officers Association website and ensuing publication of private data belonging to more than 100 BART police officers.
A Pastebin posting of data obtained in what appears to have been a "serious security breach" of BARTpoa.com, according to Sophos' NakedSecurity blog, includes the names, home addresses, email addresses, and passwords belonging to officers employed by Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART).
And the latest attack on BART may have been done by a self-proclaimed first-time hacker.
Late Wednesday, Twitter accounts associated with Anonymous and the campaign against BART began pointing to a purportedly leaked Internet Relay Chat log in which a user called "Lamaline_5mg" claimed to have broken into the BARTpoa.com database, acting alone and using an SQL injection tool, a common means of network intrusion:
Click to continue reading Amateur hacker takes credit for cracking BART police Web site
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WikiLeaks supporter ‘Operation Payback’ targets PayPal, Amazon
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Corporate News, Legal, News
PayPal is the latest WikiLeaks opponent to be hit with a denial of service attack by anti-piracy group Operation Payback, joining the growing ranks of WikiLeaks opponents that have been targeted.
Operation Payback has also indicated that Amazon is its next target.
"The attacks slowed the Web site itself down for a short while, but did not significantly impact payments," said a PayPal spokesperson.
Last week, PayPal permanently restricted the account used by WikiLeaks "due to a violation of the PayPal Acceptable Use Policy." In a blog post on Wednesday, PayPal general counsel John Muller said that the company's "difficult decision was based on a belief that the WikiLeaks Web site was encouraging sources to release classified material, which is likely a violation of the law by the source."
Muller said PayPal will release the remaining funds to the foundation that was raising money for WikiLeaks, though the organization's account will remain restricted.
Canadian Apple Stores won’t be selling iPhone 3G!
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, Cell Phones, Corporate News, Handhelds, Portable Audio / Video
So, remember that story we posted yesterday about Canada’s Rogers Wireless ripping off iPhone 3G customers? Well, apparently, that wasn’t the end of that story. Since yesterday, we have found out that Apple has decided to reroute some of the iPhone 3G units that were meant for Canada, and they are instead sending them to Europe. Now, just a few minutes ago, the news broke that Apple Stores up in Canada will not be carrying the iPhone 3G as planned. This decision is obviously a direct response to the ridiculous prices ($60 per month for 150 minutes of talk time) that Rogers Wireless has decided to place on the iPhone 3G plans. This is getting juicy!
Read More 
| AppleInsider
Time Magazine’s Cover Feature on Halo 3 Draws Fire
Posted by Paul Hamilton Categories: Bungie, Culture, First Person Shooters, Microsoft, Xbox 360
Time Magazine has Halo 3 on their cover this week but the feature inside the magazine, written by Lev Grossman, has raised the hackles on the necks of several game writers. Dan Zuccarelli from Bits, Bytes, Pixels and Sprites takes Grossman to task for what he feels is an ill-researched piece. It’s not hard to see where Zuccarelli is coming from. In the third paragraph the Time article calls Halo 2 an Xbox 360 exclusive and the inset graphic (reprinted on BBPS) shows a fan mod Xbox 360 featuring Halo 3 artwork rather than the actual Halo 3 Special Edition Xbox 360, not to mention mis-labeling the Heroclix Scarab as merely a “sculpture.”
What really has some people frothing though is Grossman’s obvious bias against gamers that seeps from nearly every paragraph as he repeatedly refers to them as antisocial, unhealthy, unpopular and even twice refers to gamers as residing in a ghetto. It’s not clear whether he refers to a literal ghetto or if he’s being metaphorical, but either way it doesn’t seem particularly balanced or neutral in tone.
Read More | Time via The Bits, Bytes, Pixels and Sprites
California Senator Questions the ESRB’s Decision on Manhunt 2
Posted by Paul Hamilton Categories: Politics, Survival Horror
After finally agreeing to grant the embattled Rockstar title Manhunt 2 a retail-friendly Mature rating, the ESRB is drawing some fire from California senator Leland Yee. Yee, best known for his failed 2005 video game legislation, is questioning what changed to entice the ESRB’s about-face. In a statement he says, “The ESRB refuses to use the AO rating for violence despite the descriptor calling for such a rating when there are ‘graphic depictions of violence.’ If Manhunt doesn’t qualify, what would?”
Somewhat surprisingly, Yee does have a valid question. It does seem like game publishers ought not to be under the typical pre-release scrutiny for something as inconsequential as ratings determination, but is there any reason why the ESRB can’t be forthcoming with specifics about how and why it comes to its conclusions?
Read More | Game Politics via Evil Avatar
BioShock Post-Launch Updates
Posted by Paul Hamilton Categories: First Person Shooters, PC, Xbox 360
BioShock has, in the days since it’s release, received a seemingly equal amount of praise and criticism. While reviewers are raving about the game’s polish and atmosphere, some gamers have been griping about the way the game handles widescreen displays and some of the DRM issues on the PC version. And as was perhaps inevitable, someone in the mainstream media started some stink about the game’s moral dilemma involving harvesting versus saving the Little Sisters.
Irrational/2K Boston’s Ken Levine spoke with Joystiq about these and other post-launch issues, essentially coming clean that there were some mistakes made on their end, but confirming that they were committed to making things right. He also confirms that there isn’t any PlayStation 3 version in the works despite the reference to the platform found in a configuration file. Regarding the Little Sister concern, Levine says:
This is a game about making your own choices and consequences. It doesn’t take things lightly. Somebody should just sit down and observe the sequence of harvesting a Little Sister. It is about the most thoughtful presentation and most carefully executed presentation of the subject. It is strictly about getting the emotional content across without unnecessary violent content. There are people on the flip side who want to chase down a Little Sister with the gun, if they want that, they’re playing the wrong game.
Read More | Joystiq
Did Microsoft’s Jeff Bell Really Insult A Message Board User?
Posted by Chris Pereira Categories: Corporate News, Internet, Microsoft
Answer: We don’t know. But according to a story on 1UP, there’s a strong possibility that Microsoft corporate VP of global marketing Jeff Bell sent a private message to a user on the NeoGAF forums asking, “And your contribution to society is….what?” The user who received the message goes by the name “a Master Ninja,” and as you can see in the image above, “bell801” is the user who sent the message.
a Master Ninja was extremely critical of Jeff Bell’s presentation at the Microsoft press conference last week at E3 (who wasn’t – the man was just dull. Sorry, fact of life) on the forums. After posting a thread on NeoGAF about the PM, users have found a YouTube video where Bell says that his GamerTag is “BigDaddy801,” and in an interview with TriXie of Xbox.com, Bell explains the significance of the number 801.
It could still be a sham, but a moderator at NeoGAF confirmed to 1UP that the account is registered to Jeff Bell. An official response from Microsoft has not yet been forthcoming, but this would certainly be interesting to see. We know big name developers such as David Jaffe frequent message boards and forums, but as 1UP points out, seeing an executive knock a message board poster would certainly be a new one.
More as it becomes available.
E3 2007: Karraker Responds Once Again To PlayStation 3 60GB Controversy
Posted by Chris Pereira Categories: Corporate News, E3, PlayStation 3, Sony
Dave Karraker, head of PR for Sony Computer Entertainment America, must be having one hell of a day. From all indications, it seems like the 60GB SKU will only be available in the US for as long as the current supply can sustain it. After that, the only option will be the 80GB SKU for $599. Naturally, gamers are pissed off. In response, Karraker has issued a statement regarding the issue yet again.
The 60GB PS3 will be available in North America for $499 until supplies of that unit are depleted. We have ample inventory to meet the immediate needs of consumers in this territory for several months to come. We won’t be making any further announcements regarding our PS3 model hardware strategy in North America until the 60GB model is exhausted and market conditions are evaluated.
So, from the sound of it, it’s possible that Sony could decide to continue manufacturing 60GB PS3s, but that decision won’t be made until later down the road.
Read More | Joystiq
Grand Theft Auto IV Trailer Causes Controversy
Posted by Lolita Beckwith Categories: Video Games
Certain things in our society happen like clockwork, such as presidential elections and the Olympics. Add to that list politicians expressing their disgust over whatever new video game Rockstar Games is about to release. Last year it was “Bully”, which politicians wrongly feared was “Grand Theft Auto” in a school, and before that it was previous installments of “GTA” itself. Well, last week, the trailer for the upcoming “GTA 4” was released on the internet—and with its shots of the Statue of Liberty, the Brooklyn Bridge, the Chrysler Building and Times Square—clearly takes place in New York (as have previous incarnations of “GTA”). Real-life New York politicos immediately took aim at the game, denouncing it for its glamorization of violence, including that against cops. As huge fans of the GTA series, we do strongly feel they’re “adult only” games. However, we wonder if these annual attacks against Rockstar and “GTA” are serving more to publicize the games as opposed to denouncing them. That said, we absolutely loved the trailer, particularly because it pays clever homage to one of our all-time favorite movies, 1982’s highly influential Koyaanisqatsi. “GTA 4” will be available October 16 for PS3, and Xbox 360, as this marks the first time a GTA game will actually debut on an Xbox console.
Read More | New York Daily News
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