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An edited collection of advanced computing news from Communications of the ACM, ACM TechNews, other ACM resources, and news sites around the Web.


The 'worm' That Could Bring Down the Internet
From ACM Opinion

The 'worm' That Could Bring Down the Internet

For the past three years, a highly encrypted computer worm called Conficker has been spreading rapidly around the world. As many as 12 million computers have...

From ACM News

Dhs Thinks Some Scada Problems Are Too Big To Call "bug"

The Stuxnet worm may be the most famous piece of malicious software ever written. When it was first detected, a little over a year ago, the worm sounded a warning...

Security Expert: ­.s. 'leading Force' Behind Stuxnet
From ACM News

Security Expert: ­.s. 'leading Force' Behind Stuxnet

German cybersecurity expert Ralph Langner warns that U.S. utility companies are not yet prepared to deal with the threat presented by the Stuxnet computer worm...

Net Neutrality Rules Published, Lawsuits Soon to Follow
From ACM News

Net Neutrality Rules Published, Lawsuits Soon to Follow

The FCC has finally officially published long-delayed rules prohibiting cable, DSL, and wireless internet companies from blocking Web sites and requiring them...

From ACM News

Setting Boundaries For Internet Privacy

Watchful European privacy regulators are wielding increasing influence beyond the Continent’s borders.

Inside Facebook's Bid to Reinvent Music, News, and Everything
From ACM News

Inside Facebook's Bid to Reinvent Music, News, and Everything

Earlier this year, Daniel Ek, the CEO of the music service Spotify, was in a car with Mark Zuckerberg. Ek was visiting the Facebook founder in California while...

Policing the Digital Storage Landscape
From ACM News

Policing the Digital Storage Landscape

Cyberlockers are the next frontier for storing music, movies, and other personal files on the Internet, but the entertainment industry wants lawmakers to ensure...

'stingray' Phone Tracker Fuels Constitutional Clash
From ACM News

'stingray' Phone Tracker Fuels Constitutional Clash

For more than a year, federal authorities pursued a man they called simply "the Hacker." Only after using a little known cellphone-tracking device—a stingray—were...

From ACM News

Mining Data For Better Medicine

The antidepressant Paxil was approved for sale in 1992, the cholesterol-lowering drug Pravachol in 1996. Company studies proved that each drug, on its own, works...

The War on Red-Light Cameras
From ACM News

The War on Red-Light Cameras

Late last month, after a drawn-out battle dating back to November, Houston finally turned off its 70 red-light cameras. City residents voted them down in a referendum...

Schmidt Avoids a Gates-Like Disaster in D.c.
From ACM News

Schmidt Avoids a Gates-Like Disaster in D.c.

Eric Schmidt cut a confident figure today prior to his testimony before U.S. lawmakers, who later appeared determined to find out if Google abuses its supremacy...

Success at 16
From Communications of the ACM

Success at 16

A high school student wins first prize from ACM for developing a faster keyboard layout.

Living in a Digital World
From Communications of the ACM

Living in a Digital World

Technology has created new opportunities to connect and interact. Yet, researchers are increasingly concerned that heavy technology usage is changing people's behavior...

From ACM News

Privacy at Risk: Who's Watching You?

The notion of Big Brother has been around for decades, but technology has long lagged behind the Orwellian imagination. Not any more; in the era of smartphones...

From ACM News

A Future For Drones: Automated Killing

One afternoon last fall at Fort Benning, GA, two model-size planes took off, climbed to 800 and 1,000 feet, and began criss-crossing the military base in search...

The Last Days of the Old Parking Meter
From ACM News

The Last Days of the Old Parking Meter

Motorists' bane, magnet for thieves, and memorialized in the Beatles' "Lovely Rita," the diminutive parking meter has led an outsize life. But its days in New...

From ACM News

The America Invents Act and the Individual Inventor

Much has been said about how the newly passed patent reform legislation, the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act, benefits large corporations. While that argument...

From ACM News

Hacking Made Easier, Thanks To New Tools

Time was when it took a fair amount of expertise to launch the kinds of illegal computer attacks that have become the hallmarks of "hacktivist" groups like Anonymous...

From ACM News

On the Internet, Nobody Knows You

Hackers have proven they can crack just about any computer network, from Sony’s to Citigroup’s. Afterward, they face another challenge: unloading the virtual...

From ACM News

Walked Into a Lamppost? Hurt While Crocheting? Help Is on the Way

Today, hospitals and doctors use a system of about 18,000 codes to describe medical services in bills they send to insurers. Apparently, that doesn't allow for...
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