The Electronic Frontier Foundation wants to save non-pirated user data from file sharing service Megaupload, allowing users to access their legitimate data before the company’s two U.S. based hosting services delete those files forever.

The EFF is currently working with Carpathia Hosting to “assess the scope of the issue facing Megaupload users.” In the meantime Carpathia has already launched the website MegaRetrieval.com which allows users to submit details of their data situation on an individual bases.

According to EFF staff attorney Julie Samuels:

“EFF is troubled that so many lawful users of Megaupload.com had their property taken from them without warning and that the government has taken no steps to help them,” and “We think it’s important that these users have their voices heard as the process moves forward.”

Carpathia is no longer being paid to house Megaupload data since the US Department of Justice froze the file sharing company’s assets, however they also state that they have “no immediate plans” to wipe out the data from their servers.

In the meantime some file retrieval may hinge on the US Government which copied a portion of the sites files allowed through a governmental search warrant before taking down Megaupload servers.

According to an official EFF statement:

“The government has finished its investigation of Megaupload’s servers and claims that the companies that own those servers – Carpathia and Cogent – are free to delete their contents,” and “Luckily, those companies aren’t following the government’s example of shooting first and asking later.”

The Electronic Frontier Foundation isn’t the only group fighting for the retention of files, lawyers for Megaupload are also attempting to retain data for more than 50 million users.

Do you think users should be given one last shot to retrieve their data before Megaupload is closed permanently?

Electronic Frontier Foundation Vows To Save Megaupload User Data is a post from: The Inquisitr

The one document that just about everyone dreads reading, and most don’t, has to be the Terms of Service (TOS) that we have to agree to before using their services. Even when we get notification of changes chances are most of us ignore them. We shouldn’t but we do because they have to be some of the most boring shit we could ever not want to read.

To make things easier for us though the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) has created the Terms-Of-Service Tracker. At TOSback.org you can see a real-time feed of TOS agreements that have been changed as well as updates to more than three dozen policies from the some of the most popular services on the Internet.

"Some changes to terms of service are good for consumers, and some are bad," said EFF Senior Staff Attorney Fred von Lohmann. "But Internet users are increasingly trusting websites with everything from their photos to their ‘friends lists’ to their calendar — and sometimes even their medical information. TOSBack will help consumers flag changes in the websites they use every day and trust with their personal information."

Source: Electronic Frontier Foundation

Currently TOSback.org is following the policies of these companies

Amazon
Apple
Automattic
Blizzard
Craigslist
Data.gov
DoubleClick
EBay
Electronic Frontier Foundation
Facebook
Flickr
GoDaddy
Google
MySpace
Organizing For America
Recovery.gov
Twitter
Whitehouse.gov
Yahoo!
YouTube

You can also grab their RSS (or use this RSS link)

The EFF tracks companies and their changing TOS agreements is a post from: The Inquisitr

A federal judge has ruled against the students’ wishes and ordered them to stay silent, upholding a temporary restraining order requested by the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. The MBTA sprung into action days before the students were set to reveal their findings at last weekend’s DEFCON 16 hackers’ conference.

The students say they found a simple way anyone could modify the cards used to pay for rides on Boston’s “T” subway system. In an nutshell, they discovered that the cards didn’t connect to a central database and didn’t have secure digital signatures — so adding hundreds of dollars in value to them wouldn’t take much.

The MBTA says it needs time to look over the data and decide how to handle it. Of course, in filing the complaint, the paperwork detailing the flaw made its way onto the Internet — so it’s all really a moot point.

That’s what makes it so surprising, then, that the judge refused to lift the restraining order and let the students discuss their discovery. Anyone can already find the information — and, on top of that, the students say they offered to give the MBTA their findings in advance. (The MBTA, for its part, says it received only a summarized version and wanted to see the whole presentation.)

The Electronic Frontier Foundation is fighting for the students’ side, but so far, it’s been a losing battle. Up next, the students will have to give the judge more details about the flaw they found. He’ll then rule on Tuesday whether to extend the restraining order or let them finally speak.

Is it the students’ responsibility to hold the MBTA’s hand and walk it through what they found? Seems to me that the kids have already gone above and beyond any obligation they might have had. Technically, if the MBTA can prove that the information would cause it harm if released, it’ll have the law on its side — though it does make you wonder where the line lies and why when it comes to this sort of case.

Subway Hacking Case: Who’s Out of Line? is a post from: The Inquisitr