Brandon Dimmel

It's been another happy week for Microsoft, as the company celebrates the fifth anniversary of Xbox Live, the online service that connects millions of consoles around the world. Unfortunately, not everyone is so ecstatic for Redmond; in fact, a ... class action lawsuit has now been revealed, slamming Microsoft and Live for renewing subscriptions without permission. The lawsuit is being led by Georgia resident Francisco Garcia, father of an underage gamer who first purchased a subscription with his debit card. That initial charge was $49.99 in October of 2005, enough to provide the kid with ... (view more)

We hear a lot about Internet threats as they develop, but how are these scares addressed by the government? According to one survey, the potential for disaster has convinced about 65% of the country's government-employed IT managers to spend more ... time on security than they did in 2006. The recent survey was conducted by Cisco Systems, no slouch in the security sphere. The security firm found that spyware and bots remain the top concern of most answering the survey, with security breaches and poor training finishing second and third. Part of the reason for spyware's infamous rise has something ... (view more)

What's a bigger waste of time: Facebook or MySpace? According to one web security company, name recognition could be a problem for the latter. In the world of social networking, MySpace is the reigning royalty. Founded in August, 2003 and based out ... of sunny California, the site celebrated its hundred millionth account creation in August of 2006. Some 300 staff work out of its Beverly Hills headquarters. That kind of established name may not be so positive for MySpace when it comes to web filtering. In a survey released last week, security firm Barracuda Networks Inc. found that 44% of ... (view more)

Most visitors to Infopackets.com are computer and Internet aficionados. Our readers know the web, and seem to generally enjoy it. Chances are, most of you have dabbled in its social networking sphere, posting profiles to Facebook, MySpace, or one of ... the other, lesser-known sites. Now one poll is warning that this activity can backfire, and although it may not mean downloading a Trojan horse or other virus, it could perhaps offer something even more sinister: identity theft. (Source: bbc.co.uk ) Although few readers will be surprised by the crime, some may be shocked by the chances of it ... (view more)

Just how far should artists go to defend their music? The Record Industry Association of America, or RIAA, seems to believe it should mean the prosecution of average Americans, with fines reaching into the hundreds of thousands of dollars. Now, one ... artist is taking matters into his own hands, attacking fan sites using his name without permission. The artist in question is none other than Prince, and recently he's been rocking his own fans like its 1999. Sites dedicated to the 80s legend have now been served notice that they must remove images of Prince, his song lyrics, and "anything linked ... (view more)

A few weeks ago, Microsoft and Facebook announced their happy eloping, an arrangement that included an astounding $240 million wedding ring. Now, it's becoming clear just what that money will mean for Microsoft and perhaps more importantly the ... millions of Facebook fanatics. Since the purchase, Facebook and Microsoft have enjoyed a tumultuous honeymoon. In fact, some analysts argue that Microsoft paid too much for its share (1.6%) of the social networking site, leaving company executive Steve Ballmer to retort, "The valuation of Facebook is still to be determined. Certainly today, it's very, ... (view more)

In the past, I've shared my difference of opinion with PC World's local gaming expert, Matt Peckham. However, in a recent blog he's brought up a fine point many gamers have and will continue to use in defence of their hobby: a double-standard exists ... between games and movies when it comes to violence. At the current moment, Rockstar Games' Manhunt 2 is the most controversial title to arrive on home consoles in some time. The original Manhunt placed the player in the position of a criminal who must survive a maze of dark levels occupied by brutal, merciless murderers. The only way to survive ... (view more)

Seems the old lady isn't quite dead yet. The Queen of the gaming world's last generation, the Sony PlayStation 2, has been given a facelift, tummy tuck, and reconstructive surgery in hopes to add a bit more punch to the Japanese gaming company's ... holiday fight. Although it hasn't been long since Sony last unveiled a slimmed-down version of a console first released shortly after Y2K, the company seems determined to offer yet another, even slicker edition of the system. The freshly updated PS2 will retail for 16,000 yen, or $140 US, when it hits Japanese retail outlets in about two weeks' time ( ... (view more)

It wasn't so long ago that we heard the story of single mother Jammie Thomas, forced by the Record Industry Association of America (RIAA) to pay over $200,000 in fines for making a handful of songs available for illegal sharing on former ... peer-to-peer protocol Kazaa. Now, a new report suggests that file sharers like Thomas probably shouldn't be made out to be criminals. In fact, they're the record industry's best customers. The RIAA may just want to have a chat with British researchers working in the Great White North. According to a report filed by Industry Canada, for every track a ... (view more)

According to some security companies, a spam campaign launched under the name of presidential hopeful Ron Paul glutted inboxes across the country last week. As if we needed one more reason to heavily scrutinize the 2008 candidates. For those who ... like Paul, you can be reassured that his campaign team is not behind the spam emails, which use the same tactics employed by male enhancement products and those pump-and-dump penny stock systems. Regardless of Paul's stance on the scheme, many of his supporters worry that the spam campaign has been designed to hurt his own. That could in fact be true ... (view more)