TOPIC: Popular Open-source Web Browser Firefox Gets Update
Mercury News / Associated Press
The Mozilla Foundation released on Tuesday an updated version of its popular, free Web browser, Firefox, which features improved search functions and more protection against spyware. Firefox is the product of hundreds of volunteer software developers around the world, who collaborate to design new features and fix bugs - unlike proprietary browsers such as Microsoft Corp.'s Internet Explorer, whose source code is kept secret.
Mountain View-based Mozilla Foundation bills itself as a nonprofit "dedicated to improving the Internet experience for people everywhere." Firefox 1.0 was released officially in November 2004, and it quickly became one of the most downloaded open-source programs in the world. It's particularly popular among home PC users and college students. Within 99 days of its release, the program was downloaded more than 25 million times. By August, it had been downloaded 200 million times.
Mozilla officials estimate that more than 70 million individuals are using Firefox, which has been translated into 35 languages and is available for Windows, Mac or Linux operating systems. Improvements to Firefox 2.0 make it tougher for spammers and other advertisers to put "spyware" and other invasive programs on users' computers. Some changes, such as an integrated spell check, are meant to help Internet users who post text on blogs, community sites such as MySpace.com or YouTube, or on collaborative Web sites known as "wikis."

TOPIC: CyberCrime By The Numbers:

Source: USAToday
$67.2 billion: FBI estimate of what U.S. businesses lose annually because of computer-related crimes. $8 billion: Consumer Reports estimate of what U.S. consumers lost the past two years because of viruses, spyware and Internet scams. 93.8 million: Privacy Rights Clearinghouse's count of personal records reported lost or stolen since February 2005. 26,150: The Anti-Phishing Working Group's count of unique variations of phishing scams reported in August 2006. Typical costs of goods and services in forums: $1,000 to $5,000: Trojan program that can transfer funds between online accounts. $500: Credit card number with PIN. $80 to $300: Change of billing data, including account number, billing address, Social Security number, home address and birth date. $150: Driver's license. $150: Birth certificate. $100: Social Security card. $7 to $25: Credit card number with security code and expiration date. $7: PayPal account log-on and password. 4% to 8% of the deal price: Fee to have an escrow agent close a complex transaction. Free: Access to a service that gives details of the issuing bank for any credit card number.