Chad's News

A teenager in Washington state was using a MySpace account to send bomb threats to his school. The FBI was able to infect his home computer with spyware that harvested enough information to identify him. Details are not clear about exactly how the FBI managed to get the spyware installed on his computer, but the article covers several ways in which it might have been done.

Link: http://www.computerworld.com/…
(via Kim Komando)

This is the story of a heavily misused Social Security number. I’d read about this in a fiction book, but wasn’t sure if it was actually true or not.

Link: http://www.ssa.gov/…
(via digg)

I’m all for à la carte cable television, where consumers get to choose (and pay for) only those channels they want to receive. I can understand why the cable companies are reluctant to provide this service, but I don’t see why the FCC has been dragging its heels. It really seems like a no-brainer.

Link: http://arstechnica.com/…

Starting next Monday (2007-05-14), first class postage in the US will increase to 41 cents. In addition, the previously mentioned “forever” stamps are already on sale. These forever stamps are a great deal, but I’m spending my money on the Star Wars stamps.

Link: http://www.usps.com/…
(via Lifehacker)

TurboTax customers who e-filed at the last minute this year ran into some serious problems. The company’s servers were overwhelmed—I heard a report on the radio saying they were getting 50-60 requests per second. Some customers printed out the forms and made a midnight run to the post office, while others missed the deadline. Fortunately the IRS was merciful and gave TurboTax users a 48-hour reprieve.

Link: http://news.com.com/…

Kiplinger presents its list of obscure-but-useful tax deductions. Note that you may have to file a 1040 and/or itemize deductions in order to receive some of them.

Link: http://www.kiplinger.com/…
(via digg)

If you bought one of the CDs associated with the Sony rootkit fiasco, there is a second settlement for which you qualify (first one here).

This settlement is between the Federal Trade Commission and Sony. It allows you to (1) exchange any affected CDs and (2) receive up to $150 in reimbursement for your efforts to remove the DRM software.

Everybody and their brother has been reporting on this, but nobody gave instructions on how to file a claim. So keep an eye on Chad’s News, and another one on the settlement page—the current info is for the previous settlement.

Link: http://www.ftc.gov/…

With a few exceptions, I try not to use Chad’s News as an editorial platform. But this statement by Attorney General Alberto Gonzales absolutely astounded me. It is wrong, wrong, wrong. (And keep in mind that I voted for this administration.)

Link: http://sfgate.com/…

Taxpayers are eligible this year for a one-time refund of excise taxes paid on phone bills. The standard refund amount varies from $30 to $60 -or- you can dig up old phone bills and calculate the actual amount paid. The refund is not automatic—you have to claim it by filling in a line on form 1040 or 1040a, or by filing form 1040EZ-T.

Link: http://www.snopes.com/…
(via digg)

The US Mint has implemented some regulations that prohibit people from melting down pennies or nickels. Apparently the base metals are worth more than the coins.

Link: http://money.cnn.com/…
(via digg)

From the article: “Of the 383 pieces of legislation that were signed into law during the two-year 109th Congress, more than one-quarter dealt with naming or renaming federal buildings…” I used to think it was a good thing if Congress just spun its wheels and didn’t accomplish much, but now that it’s happening, I’m not so sure anymore.

Link: http://www.cnn.com/…
(via digg)

Apparently it is quite easy (and legal) for law enforcement to use your cell phone as an eavesdropping tool. With the right software downloaded to the phone, it becomes a microphone and transmits all nearby conversations to a third party. This can be done without the owner’s knowledge, and the eavesdropping occurs even when the phone is turned off. There is, however, some question as to the exact methods used by the FBI in this specific case. They may have installed traditional hardware bugs in the suspects’ phones, but some experts believe they used the software method.

For the paranoid, there is this link, explaining how to detect/circumvent software bugs on your phone. More information on how a cell phone can become a bug is at this link (scroll down to the article entitled “Cell Phones Become Instant Bugs!”).

Link: http://news.com.com/…
(via Ars Technica)