The IRE Resource Center is a major research library containing more than 23,250 investigative stories — both print and broadcast. These stories are searchable online or by contacting the Resource Center directly (573-882-3364 or rescntr@ire.org) where a researcher can help you pinpoint what you need. Browse or search the tipsheet section of our library below. Stories are not available for download but can be easily ordered by contacting the Resource Center:
Search results for "web services" ...
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Property Assessment
"You're paying how much for your home and auto insurance" this article asks. "Here's your big chance to cut those premiums down to size." SmartMoney magazine looks into the various ways to downsize your insurance premiums using new technologies, and businesses that are utilizing them. The article discusses the costs and benefits of rate quote services and other web-based providers, and recommends what to watch out for.
Tags: money; insurance; premium; rate quote; online; competition
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Experts call Comcast Internet software invasive
An investigation by the Ann Arbor News revealed that Internet service provider Comcast was using "spyware" to capture the sites customers visited. The Philadelphia-based company said it was only using that information to improve their service by storeing the most popular sites on the Internet. "But the lengthy privacy statement that customers must sign clearly showed the company had the right to share (customers) online habits with third parties, such as marketing organizations," despite Comcasts assertions that it wouldn't use that information to selectively advertise to Web users.
Tags: Comcast; Internet service provider; information; popular; spyware; privacy statement; online habits; selective advertising
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Cracking the Nest Egg
From the contest questionnaire: "After years of reluctance, consumers are starting to bank online in substantial numbers -- and computer hackers are wasting no time in preying on the trend. Law enforcement agencies and security incidents -- and the risk to the public -- remains largely unknown. The banking industry, highly protective of its reputation, releases as little information as possible about security lapses. The investigation broadly defines security issues as technical lapses, blunders and glitches, as well as outright intrusions that can shake the confidence of customers."
Tags: Internet; hackers; money; security; computer crime; Bank Secrecy Act; web services; technology
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Losing Signal
"..the advent of the information economy has turned the FCC from a minor D.C. player into one of the government's most powerful agencies. As the de facto czar of the nation's communications infrastructure, the commission now makes daily decisions affecting America's technological destiny-reviewing megamergers like AOL Time Warner union, evaluating the Baby Bells' expansion plans, determining whether cable companies should decide what Web content their Internet customers can view. And no one appreciates the FCC's newfound authority better than the communications industry, whose lobbying expenses now stand at roughly $125 million, more than twice the amount spent by defense firms."
Tags: FCC; lobbying; telecommunications; "Big Media; " broadband; Internet; cable; telephone; radio; broadcast licenses; deregulation; digital transition; telcos; CFIC; Dingell; Tauzin; McCain; Lott; open access; First Amendment; location-based services (LBS); privacy; Digital Democracy; National Association of Broadcasters; NAB; analog spectrum; consolidation; government auction
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Who's checking?
NBC News Dateline follows up a 1995 banking fraud story, and despite promises of banking reforms, "We returned to the same banks we had visited five years earlier. At five out of six banks we had no trouble opening fake accounts using fake ID. We also signed checks with names like Bugs Bunny and Porky Pig... They all went through." Dateline added "a comprehensive look at the safety of on-line banking... banks told us no major theft had occurred... Dateline found hundreds of cases where it's believed Trojan horse programs have pilfered records, stolen data and erased hard drives - we showed how easy it is to steal person accounts from someone's bank...."
Tags: TAPE TRANSCRIPT CAR counterfeit checks Secret Service hackers Internet World Wide Web online banking
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APBnews.com's entire web site
This report consists of a compilation of APBnews databases with information about crime, justice and safety. Entry for IRE FOI award.
Tags: crime; justice; safety; on-line services
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No title (id: 13048)
Cyberporn bulletin board operators Robert and Carleen Thomas, from Milpitas, Calif., were convicted on obscenity charges by a jury in Memphis, one of the most conservative communities in the country. S.F. Weekly examines the couple's Silicon Valley startup and how it attracted the interest of a U.S. Postal Service inspector in Memphis, one who was willing to stretch the fabric of the First Amendment to bust the couple on obscenity charges. (March 15 - 21, 1995)
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No title (id: 4484)
Federal Times discloses a web of conflicts of interests involving chairman of the U.S. Postal Service Board of Governors, Attorney General Edward Meese, September - December 1986.
Tags: None