RIAA

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Some people have been sent letters to pay up or go to court that have ignored them with no consequences. I'm not actually suggesting that you simply ignore any letter you see, but perhaps be cautious about who is actually sending it, what they're suggesting, and whether or not they can prove it.

Most importantly, if the letter sounds like a scam (threatening things they can't do like taking your house and only giving you a week or two to respond), there's a good chance it is.

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Download a copy of Firefox 3 this Tuesday the 17th. Send a message that we're tired of big-company products that aren't stable, aren't standard, aren't secure, and can't be customized.

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While some always did this, more and more gas stations are beginning to put "holds" on your debit or credit card which could cause you to incur massive fees or bounced checks.

The point is to pre-charge you for all the gas you could possibly have so the station doesn't get ripped off, but can cause you a world of hurt. Make sure you use credit cards (rather than debit) or cash at the station or pay the clerk inside (where holds don't apply).

RIAA

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The RIAA likes to send people settlement letters whether they've done anything wrong or not which leads many people to pay up just to end the issue (much like traffic tickets which, even if you're right, it's often cheaper to just pay). Now, if someone tries to defend themselves in court, the fee will more than double thus providing stiff motivation to avoid using our own justice system.

eBay

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If you buy an item that typically is involved with a contract like cell phones or, in this case, a TiVO unit, you may end up getting screwed.

Prefer to stay hidden?

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A commenter pointed out this checklist of tips for controlling your data and your privacy and I agree that it's got some good advice so here's the link. Most of all, I credit them for being one of the first articles I've found online about ID theft that actually mentions credit freezes (other than mine of course).

George W. Bush

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89% out of 650000 votes so far says yes. Make sure to get over there and vote yourself.

Mine now, sucka!

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Any computer with at least one file "coming from 'dubious origins,' e.g. downloaded from P2P". I don't know about you, but everyone I know has downloaded something at one point or another. As I've said before, there are many situations where downloading even copyrighted material is completely ethical(even if it may not be clearly legal or illegal).

Info on the bill brought to you via Slashdot.

George W. Bush

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I hate it when they tease. Of course, Dennis Kucinich is introducing not one, but 35 articles of impeachment against Bush. Could justice finally be served? Be still my beating heart!

University of Washington

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The University of Washington has proven how ineffective the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) bully corporations have been identifying suspected infringers on their copyrighted works.

The paper finds that there is a serious flaw in how these trade groups finger reported file-sharers. It also suggests that some people might be getting improperly accused of sharing copyrighted content, and could even be purposely framed by other users. An inanimate object could also get the blame. The researchers rigged the software agents to implicate three laserjet printers, which were then accused in takedown letters by the M.P.A.A. of downloading copies of “Iron Man ? and the latest Indiana Jones film.

So they've show that it's possible to frame others for the download of materials. I wonder what that will do to the lawsuits.