Google and Government Partner to fight cyberattacks

Google is finalizing a deal that will allow the National Security Agency United States to help investigate the attack of corporate espionage that could have come from China, said Thursday the Washington Post.

The aim of the research is to better respond to Google, the largest Internet search firm in the world, and its users from future attacks, the Post said, citing unnamed sources with knowledge of the agreement.
The sources said that Google's alliance with the NSA electronic surveillance organization more powerful in the world, would aim to allow both parties to share key information without violating Google's policies or laws that protect the privacy of internet communications .

Under the agreement, the NSA will not see the user searches or e-mail accounts, sources said. Google does not share ownership data with the NSA, said.

Google took on January 12 the unusual step of announcing that he was the victim of sophisticated cyber attacks in mid-December and is reviewing its business operation in China.

The company based in Silicon Valley said the cyberattacks directed against activists Gmail accounts of human rights defenders Chinese and a research fund of at least 20 other large companies had been targeted.China responded several days later with a defense of state control over the Internet. A senior official said internet pornography, fraud, and rumors were a threat and the means of the internet should help "guide public opinion" in China.

The U.S. director of national intelligence, Dennis Blair said Tuesday that the cyberattacks against Google were a warning.The partnership between the giant Internet search and the NSA touches sensitive issues about how to balance individual privacy and national security online.

Google went to the NSA as a result of the attacks, but achieving agreement took weeks because of the sensitive nature of the exchange of information between both parties.
The focus of the cooperative society will not be in determining who was behind the attacks, the Post said citing sources. That would be almost impossible.

Instead, the goal is to build a better defense of the networks of Google, or what experts call "information security", according to the Post quoted its sources.

Judge sets deadline for agreement on Google Book

A federal judge on Wednesday set a month's deadline for the parties in the battle over Google Inc. 'efforts to obtain the digital reproduction rights of millions of books out of circulation in the United States submitted a revised agreement.
Judge Denny Chin set a deadline for the Nov. 9, after a lawyer representing the owners tell him that Google's lawyers authors and publishers who were working hard to reach a new agreement in early November. An agreement of $ 125 million was being renegotiated after the U.S. government say that it seemed that the existing agreement would violate antitrust laws.
The original agreement was announced last October by Google and the publishing industry to settle two lawsuits that challenged publishing rights plans for digital broadcasting.
Michael Boni, a lawyer for authors, told the judge that the new agreement would contain amendments to make it more acceptable to the Department of Justice, which questioned the legality of the original version.
William F. Cavanaugh, a deputy assistant secretary of Justice, told the judge that the department has been in continuous testing with both sides. However, said the government was not aware yet of how the final agreement.
He said he expected "meetings in the near future to discuss the proposal."
Cavanaugh asked the judge to give the government 10 days after any deadline for filing objections, so that the Justice Department prepare its analysis of a new agreement.
At one point, Chin wondered what would happen if the talks fail and no agreement is reached.

Google's lawyer Daralyn Durie told the judge: "The expectation is we will get both sides to reach an agreement."
Chin did not set a deadline for when they should be submitted objections but said he expected objections to authorize only new provisions, it is hoped that the basic points of agreement remained intact.
The judge received almost 400 views on the new agreement, many of them expressing disapproval.

Germany joins the list of opponents of the Google Books project

The Google project of digitizing millions of books is a hitch. One more. According to the German government, Google's plans would violate German laws on copyright and the protection of the privacy of Internet users in the country.

The Google agreement reached in October 2008 with Authors Guild and Association of American Publishers Inc would, according to the complaint German digitize books of German authors without their consent.

"The agreement would violate German laws that were established to protect authors and publishers in Germany with regard to the respect of the copying, editing and digital distribution of their works." said Johannes Christian Wichard, Deputy General Manager of Commercial and Economic Law of the German Ministry of Justice.

"The final decision on this agreement will have a long-term effect, since it would create a new global regime on copyright which does not have any input from those who would be affected," Wichard said. He noted that German authors unpublished in the United States were not represented by the Authors Guild has signed the deal with Google.
Google agreed to pay $ 125 million to create a Book Rights Registry, where authors and publishers can register works and receive compensation.

But the project has been controversial from the start. On one hand it is feared that the deal gives Google the ability to set prices for the print versions, once you scan the books and get on the Net If the service becomes a necessity for libraries, they would face monopolistic prices. Google rivals Microsoft, Yahoo and Amazon also recently opposed the agreement.

The U.S. Justice Department already investigating the terms of the agreement, while the forces responsible for ensuring competence in the European Union, led by Germany, have said they will study the case.
For the moment, and the agreement, the authors have until later this week to let Google know they do not want their works to be digitized. The hearing for final approval of the agreement by the U.S. justice system is scheduled for October 7.

Sony signed an agreement with Google to install Chrome on your PC

Google has signed a deal with Sony for the Japanese company incorporate technology into their personal computers on Google's Chrome browser. It is the first agreement that Google signed with a PC manufacturer, but the company says it plans to have more similar agreements to promote the browser that launched last year.
Eitan Bencuya, Google spokeswoman declined to say what the Sony models that will bring the Chrome browser pre-installed or has entered into financial details.
Chrome is far behind in market share in the 'browser war' compared with Microsoft's Internet Explorer and Mozilla Firefox.
Internet Explorer is used by more than two thirds of Internet users, while Chrome is used by less than 3%, according to Net Applications. "The response from users to Google Chrome has been excellent, and we are exploring ways to make Chrome accessible to more people," he said from Google.
Nokia postpones its music service to U.S. Nokia has been postponed until next year launch its music service in the U.S., the largest music market in the world, Forbes magazine published on its website, quoting a spokesman for Nokia.

When Nokia, the largest mobile phone maker in the world, launched the service last October, said it would begin work in the U.S. in 2009. A Nokia spokeswoman told Reuters that the firm had not given any deadline for launching the service in the U.S..
"Actually we did not give a deadline for when the firm would launch in North America. Our priority is to create and deliver an optimal experience every time we launch this service in a market," he said. Nokia unveiled in October last year its music service "Comes with Music" in the UK, considered the toughest test market for new mobile services in Europe, where he received a weak host.

Until now, Nokia has launched the service in nine countries. "Comes With Music" offers unlimited music from the big record labels and several independents, and music can be kept after completion of the contract. The individual songs can be downloaded to a phone and a computer and are free, but the cost of music is reflected in the price of the phone or the monthly fee.