A growing problem plaguing online transactions is fraud. There are many methods of acquiring credit cards, bank account numbers, and personal information to commit crimes ranging from petty theft to funding and facilitating terrorism.

I've personally received emails requesting that I log into a bogus site and clarify some details about my account. One that caught my eye was an email that asked me to help eBay with a "security issue". Of course, eBay had nothing to do with the email. That site was hosted in the UK and collected numbers from Paypal related bank accounts and the user's passport. Why would they want passport numbers? By linking a real passport to real bank information, your identity could be very useful for criminal activities. They could easily manufacture a very real looking set of identification and travel related documents.

I'm always chastising someone about their bad passwords. They either use a silly simple password, or none at all for their personal computers, accounts online, etc. Some people will even use numbers for critical accounts like online banking. It's a huge security problem. What's the point in a password if it doesn't stop someone from breaking into your stuff?

More than two in three respondents (65 per cent) quizzed in RSA Security's survey use fewer than five passwords for all electronic information access and 15 percent use a single password for everything. These figures are unchanged from a similar survey last year.

John Worrall, VP of worldwide marketing at RSA Security, said: "The majority of consumers are aware of the problems associated with passwords, but until they are presented with a reliable, easy-to-use alternative, they're going to continue to exhibit poor password management practices." - The Register

A friend told me to be careful, because there were tests using “honey pots”, Windows machines thrown online without security patches, where the computers were hacked in less than two hours. My experience was more like five minutes. I was on a dialup connection, using a brand new installation of Windows XP Home Edition. I just went to Control Panel, made a new connection to my dialup ISP by entering their number, my username, and my password. Less than five minutes later, a window popped up. It was one of those hacks that exploits Windows Messenger Service, which is turned on by default. And, of course, since I didn't have other tools turned off and didn't do my security updates, it was hacked completely.

Addressing the FDA drug safety panel Thursday, Merck research chief Peter Kim said that "if the advisory committee and the FDA conclude that the benefits of this class outweigh the risks in some patient populations, then we would have to consider the implications of these new data given the unique benefits Vioxx offers." - Marketwatch

Alabama legislators are proposing a law placing cameras at red-lights. Before Alabama even begins, the traffic light camera controversy is playing out in courts nationwide.

Hat tip: Instapundit

Thanks to more efficient automobiles, states are losing tax revenue from gasoline. Their solution? Some are suggesting they should tax the miles people drive.

No! Linux security, especially when compared to Windows options, is solid. But, Microsoft is asking the question. They want potential buyers to fear uncertainty (FUD) regarding the Linux reputation of security. However, there is one thing you can know. Windows security experts hope they know all the potential flaws in the Microsoft operating system and bundled programs. And, they hope because they don't commit to the source code, nor is it typically made available. Ask your Microsoft vendor if they have access to the source code and if they can immediately implement changes should security risks be found. The answer is likely going to be "no."

Tony Lock at The Register talks about this topic authoritatively.

If it is selfish to have a child because you are older than the other parents, surely it is selfish to have a child when your house is smaller than it could be and your salary is less than you would like it to be? However you do it, having children is essentially a selfish thing to do...

- Jennie Bristow

On the subject of aged women using medicine to have children, Jennie Bristow makes the argument that having children is always selfish. It's a typical lib-city-yuppie approach to viewing parenting and I believe it's dead wrong. Obviously, children are more a product of biology than planning. People have an inexplicable desire to raise children of their own. It's related to another intangible and illogical motive: love.

1. An unemployed waitress in Berlin faces the loss of her welfare benefits after refusing a job as a prostitute in a legalized brothel.
2. A British court has ruled that a suspected terrorist from Algeria cannot be detained in custody because jail causes him to suffer a "depressive illness."
3. Seventeen-year-old Jeffrey Eden of Charlestown, R.I., has been awarded an A by his teacher and the "Silver Key" in the Rhode Island Scholastic Art Awards for a diorama titled "Bush/Hitler and How History Repeats Itself."

- Mark Steyn

Sometimes conservatives can be such negative people. Mr Steyn has a good set of points in this article. However, let's face it. We know these stories because media types realized they were crazy events. National news sources didn't lead with a story about how this brave seventeen-year-old compared Bush to Hitler. Most people see the insanity of the government financially pressuring a woman into prostitution. And, those activist judges are now on a lot of people's short list of "people needing fired". In America, we (traditional values) are winning the culture war. Good is infecting the world.

By now, you've heard about the radio tracking devices a California school wants to place on students. And, you've likely heard the controversy it has stirred.

Parents of elementary and middle school students in a small California town are protesting a tracking program their school recently launched, which requires students to wear identification badges embedded with radio frequency, or RFID, chips.
- Wired News

Has anyone considered the tort potential when someone finds a link to cancer?