Current Events in January 2007

"Many computer users do not realize that hackers are using their machines to send bulk e-mails by the millions," said Lydia Parnes, Director of Consumer Protection at the Federal Trade Commission.

When a hacker hijacks a PC, it becomes what is known as a "zombie computer," meaning it operates at the will of the hacker, who assumes control by downloading a malicious code. The scope of the problem was illustrated in late 2005 when Microsoft engineers, working in a lab, set out to create their own zombie computer. It was frighteningly easy.

The investigators began by placing a single copy of malicious code onto a healthy computer and then connecting the computer to the Internet. Almost immediately, the researchers noticed the first rumblings of life.

The infected computer sent an alert with its Internet location and hijack status to a distant server.

Then, connection requests from hundreds of Internet Protocol (IP) addresses poured into the machine, commanding the infected computer to distribute millions of illegal spam e-mails. Those are the same spam emails that arrive in your inbox daily, with real people's names attached to them.

Of course, the people who sent you the email are clueless. As more consumers sign up for high-speed Internet connections at home, computer criminals have set their sights on the consumers' computers, a growing population of potential zombies that never sleep.

"High-speed connections are an extremely convenient and powerful way to access the Internet, but people need to realize that their connections don't turn off when they walk away from their computers," says Aaron Kornblum, Microsoft's Internet-safety enforcement attorney.

In less than three weeks, the Microsoft lab's zombie computer received more than five million requests to send 18 million spam e-mails. These requests contained advertisements for more than 13,000 unique domains.

"We were startled by the quantity of data directed at this single machine," said Kornblum, who helped lead the zombie investigation. "Even a lone spam zombie can spew huge volumes of illegal e-mail across the Internet."

"The only way to slow the spread of zombies and other online threats is by going after them as resolutely and in as many ways as possible," said Tim Cranton, director of Microsoft's Internet Safety Enforcement programs.

Microsoft has been doing that, using some reverse engineering to go looking for the real source of the spam, the server controlling the zombies. By inserting themselves in the spammers' path and looking upstream, they say they have been able to see things they've never been able to see before.

Specifically, they uncovered the IP addresses of the computers that were sending spamming requests to the quarantined zombie, along with the addresses of the Web sites advertised in the spam. By the end of last month Microsoft had initiated 129 lawsuits in Europe, the Middle East, and North America.

But as your bulging inbox reveals, the problem is far from solved. That's partly because of the lack of awareness of the part of computer users that they could be contributing to the tidal wave of spam.

"Other than sometimes creating extremely sluggish Internet connections and dramatically slowing overall computer performance, zombie computers show few recognizable signs of their infection," Parnes said. "It has become increasingly important for computer users to protect their systems to every extent possible."

How do you prevent your computer from becoming a zombie? Government and industry experts offer these tips:

• Use a firewall to protect computers from hacking attacks while connected to the Internet.

• Get computer security updates or use the automatic updating features to shield computers from viruses, worms and other threats.

• Use up-to-date anti-virus software to help protect against the latest threats.

• Get anti-spyware software and beware of tricks designed to get people to download and install unwanted and sometimes destructive software. This software is sometimes distributed in non-commercial music downloads, file-sharing programs and free games.

• Be cautious about opening any attachment or downloading any files in e-mails from unknown senders.

SophosLabs, the British-based IT security firm, estimates that more than 50 percent of all spam today originates from zombie computers. It notes that in May 2006, the Sober-Q Trojan horse and Sober-N worm worked in tandem to infect and hijack computers around the world, programming them to spew out German nationalistic spam during an election.

As spammers become more aggressive -- collaborating with virus writers to create armies of zombie computers -- the company warns the problem will only intensify. Large companies and institutions with large computer networks will be the next targets.

Already, it says, legitimate organizations with hijacked computers are being identified as a source of spam.

This not only harms the organization's reputation, but can also cause the company's email to be blocked by others. A bigger problem is the quantum jump in spam generation, meaning there may be no way to reduce the amount of spam hitting your inbox until someone comes up with a magic bullet that will kill these zombies.

In fact, a new report by the NPD Group shows dieting in the U.S. to be at an all-time low.

According to the group's 21st annual "Eating Patterns in America" report, even with those extra pounds, dieting has fallen out of favor, driven in large part by aging Baby Boomers, who are less likely than previous generations to follow a doctor-recommended diet.

While 60% of adults still say they would like to lose 20 pounds, NPD's research reveals that the percent of adults on a diet last year was at the lowest level in at least 16 years.

In 1990, a typical week throughout the year found that 35 percent of women and 26 percent of men were on a diet. Last year, those levels dropped to 26 percent of women and 19 percent of men on some kind of diet.

"Dieting is at an all-time low, despite more Americans being overweight than ever before," said Harry Balzer, vice president of The NPD Group and author of its 21st Annual Eating Patterns in America report.

NPD data shows that as Americans grow older, they are more likely to diet. The peak years for dieting are 55-64, which many Baby Boomers are now entering. However, individuals entering into this age group are less likely to be following a doctor supervised diet than previous generations. They are still using diets, but diets of their choice rather than one recommended or supervised by a doctor.

"It is not unusual for this Baby Boomer generation to set their own rules as to how they deal with dieting issues," Balzer said. "This is a time in life where health issues begin to creep into our lives and in the past, doctors provided advice that was followed on changing eating habits. It appears people in this age group today are either not getting -- or not listening to -- their doctor's advice. In fact, the number one diet in America is one that is called 'my own.'"

NPD Group compiles the annual report for the food and beverage industry, which uses it to to examine how Americans are really eating and drinking.

The report takes an in-depth look at the in-home and away-from-home food and beverage consumption habits, including trends in diet and nutrition, and concerns about health and food safety.

The researchers say it works by releasing a substance into the body that makes the user feel full. The substance is based on the body's actual hormone that tells the brain to stop eating once a large meal is consumed.

The drug may soon be available in Britain, where rising obesity levels have led to a large increase in a number of related diseases and have threatened to swamp the nation's state-run health service. The drug is designed to be absorbed through the mouth, making chewing gum an ideal delivery vehicle, researchers say.

Laboratory tests so far have been encouraging. Human volunteers who were given the drug reduced their food consumption 15 to 20 percent without feeling hungry. Mice who were administered the drug lost 15 percent of their body weight in one week's time.

Researchers say more testing is needed, but that the drug could be on the market within a few years. They say it could be delivered in a variety of ways besides chewing gum, including as a nasal spray and in injection.

The New York Times reported on January 14th that both agencies were using powers granted them by the PATRIOT Act to request investigations into financial transactions or activities they deem "suspicious."

Both agencies are barred by law from any domestic law enforcement activity.

Vice-President Dick Cheney defended the practice as necessary to fight terrorism, but critics said the letters violate civil liberties and could be used to keep tabs on individuals with no connections to terrorist groups.

Caroline Frederickson, director of the American Civil Liberties Union's (ACLU) legislative office in Washington, said the practice "raises a host of questions that need to be answered."

"What is the legal basis for the government's action?" Fredrickson asked in a statement. "What safeguards are in place to protect basic privacy rights? How often have the Pentagon and CIA used this claimed authority ... and was compliance truly "voluntary" or effectively coerced?"

Bank Secrecy

The traditional basis for government investigation of financial transactions was to stop money laundering for organized crime.

In 1970, the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) gave the Treasury Department the power to demand "suspicious activity reports" on individuals from financial institutions.

No targeted individual is ever aware that the reports are created or distributed, and traditionally the reports are provided with very little oversight.

The information is shared across multiple government agencies, all of which participate in the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN).

The passage of the PATRIOT Act in 2001 gave FinCEN even more power to enforce the BSA, leading critics to charge that the Act was being used to spy on innocent citizens with no real justification, and that customers with Arabic names or ethnic origins were being unfairly targeted as possible terrorists.

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) criticized the IRS for not providing adequate security protection for personal information it provides to FinCEN. According to the GAO report, the IRS could access personal identifying information such as names and Social Security numbers, with little or no security protection.

Turf War

Although use of the BSA to generate national security letters is legal, the actions of the Pentagon and the CIA are more questionable.

ABC News reported that the FBI continues to issue the vast majority of these letters, with the CIA doing so in much more limited circumstances.

Although none of the defense agencies involved would comment about the number of letters they issue, the Times reported that the Defense Department may have issued letters for as many as 500 investigations in the last few years.

While the Pentagon and CIA may be seen as horning in on the traditional turf of the FBI, Vice President Cheney, a staunch supporter of centralizing intelligence efforts through military agencies, claimed that "the Department of Defense has a legitimate authority in this area."

In an interview on FOX News on Jan. 14th, Cheney said, "This is an authority that goes back three or four decades ... It's a perfectly legitimate activity. There's nothing wrong with it or illegal. It doesn't violate people's civil rights."

Cheney's assurances aside, many observers were troubled by what seems to be a usurpation of domestic investigatory power by the military, amounting to even more surveillance of Americans without judicial oversight.

Law professor Daniel Solove analyzed the various statutes that empower the FBI to issue national security letters, including the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA).

Solove believed that the letters issued by the Pentagon and the CIA might not be "true" national security letters, but that financial firms would be intimidated enough to comply regardless.

"[I]t would be quite problematic if the letters were issued under the guise of an NSL and failed to indicate that cooperation was voluntary," Solove said on his blog. "On the facts given, we have no idea what these particular letters said or looked like."

In addition to calming the infant, pacifier use can also assist in reducing the incidence of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, or SIDS, according to a report in the January/February 2007 issue of General Dentistry, the Academy of General Dentistry's (AGD) clinical, peer-reviewed journal.

"Contrary to popular belief, there are some positive effects that result from sucking on pacifiers," says Jane Soxman, DDS, author of the study and Diplomate of the American Board of Pediatric Dentistry. "One is that they assist in reducing the incidence of SIDS.

"Babies who are offered a pacifier do not sleep as deeply as those who sleep without a pacifier. Pacifier sucking makes it possible for the infant to be aroused from a deep sleep that could result in the stopping of breathing. Pacifiers also increase sucking satisfaction and provide a source of comfort to infants," said Soxman.

Parents should, however, be aware of the effects of pacifier sucking on an infant's oral health.

"Children should stop using pacifiers by age two," says Luke Matranga, DDS, MAGD, ABGD, AGD spokesman. "Up until the age of two, any alignment problem with the teeth or the developing bone is usually corrected within a 6-month period after pacifier use is stopped. Prolonged pacifier use and thumb sucking can cause problems with the proper growth of the mouth, alignment of the teeth and changes in the shape of the roof of the mouth."

Breaking the habit is not always easy, and there are several methods parents can use to stop it. Parents can dip the pacifier in white vinegar, making it distasteful; pierce the nipple of the pacifier with an ice pick or cut it shorter to reduce sucking satisfaction; leave it behind on a trip; or implement the "cold turkey" method.

Tips and recommendations:

• Pacifier use should be restricted to the time when the infant is falling asleep.
• Pacifiers can cause severe lacerations if the shield is held inside the lips.
• Look for a pacifier with ventilation holes in the shield, as they permit air passage. This is important if the pacifier accidentally becomes lodged in the child's throat.
• In order to prevent strangulation, do not place a cord around a child's neck to hold a pacifier. Look for pacifiers that have a ring.
• A symmetrical nipple permits the pacifier to remain in the correct sucking position.
• Dispose of the pacifier after use; it is not sanitary to keep it or give it away.

It was a lot of hype and glory at this year's Consumer Electronics Show, with mobile phones, digital music players, and souped-up hard drives struggling to be noticed above the iPhone din.

But largely overlooked were new developments in the credit card interchange fee struggle between merchants and the credit card companies, not to mention retailers' concerns over new "swipeless" credit/debit card technology.

At the "Photography Fights Back" retailer panel session, photo store owner Mitch Goldstone dissected the fees business owners have to pay for credit card transactions.

Goldstone blasted the system as antiquated and costly to merchants.

"It's no coincidence that U.S. consumers pay the highest rates as they are the most active card users," Goldstone said.

"It made sense in the 60s, 70s and maybe even the 80s when paper transactions and human interactions and approvals were the norm. Today, the same transactions are approved and funds delivered within seconds, therefore there is no need or rationale for the fee," he said.

Goldstone is one of the plaintiffs in lawsuits filed by merchant associations challenging the interchange fees levied by Visa, MasterCard and their partner banks.

The costs for these transactions are so high that any profit the merchant makes is often wiped out, particularly for small items such as food and drinks.

Merchants say they are often forced to raise prices on all goods as a result, even when customers pay with cash and don't incur the fees.

In a recent holiday ad blitz, the Merchants' Payment Coalition derided credit card companies for the "hidden tax" that interchange fees levy on retailers and consumers, comparing them to the Grinch when it came to "stealing Christmas."

"I grew up believing that if anyone stole Christmas it was the Grinch," said one radio ad."But it turns out the credit card companies stole Christmas by taking a bite out of every present you bought with their cards."

No Swipe, No Profit?

Another development at CES that may give merchants cause for concern was Visa's announcement of a mobile payment platform that will enable shoppers to use their cell phones as credit cards.

The platform, developed in tandem with Nokia, would enable consumers to swipe cell phones enabled with a special microchip over a reader, then process their payments by pushing a button.

Visa advertised the new platform as the latest in its "contactless" payments initiative, wherein shoppers would use cards or other items to make credit purchases without "swiping" their cards or signing receipts.

Merchants are concerned about contactless payment technology, for fear that it would encourage "micropayments" -- buying small goods with credit cards. They say the transaction fees would erase any profit they would otherwise make on small sales.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) has introduced two bills on data security.

One, the "Social Security Number Misuse Prevention Act," would set restrictions on the collection, sale, and display of Social Security numbers by third parties without the accountholder's consent.

The bill would set "some limitations" on businesses that request the number, according to Feinstein's office.

"If a person's Social Security number is compromised, the path to identity theft is a short one," Feinstein said. "We must ensure that government agencies and businesses take responsibility and protect Americans' Social Security numbers."

The Misuse Prevention Act contains exemptions for law enforcement, public health agencies, and businesses to collect and store Social Security numbers for credit and fraud checks, leading critics to say that the bill has too many loopholes to be effective.

The Misuse Prevention Act was co-sponsored in part by Sen. John Sununu (R-NH), who recently made waves himself by calling for legislation to prevent the FCC from forcing electronics companies to include "broadcast flags" in their products, designed to stop copying of content.

Individuals "Left Defenseless"

Feinstein's second bill, the "Notification of Risk to Personal Data Act," sets rules for businesses and agencies that collect personal data to notify individuals of a breach "without unreasonable delay."

The bill would require media notification in all circumstances, and Secret Service notification if the breach exceeded 10,000 individual records or one million database entries.

"Individuals cannot take the appropriate steps to protect themselves if they are not armed with detailed information about the breach," Feinstein said. "Without that knowledge, individuals are left defenseless to identity thieves."

However, the bill contains several significant exemptions.

First, law enforcement agencies that are hit with data breaches could delay notification if they deemed it to be a security risk.

Businesses can escape the notification law by performing "risk assessments" privately and sharing the results with the Secret Service.

And like many previous data security bills that made their way through Congress, Feinstein's bill preempts state laws, including California's, which is much more stringent than Feinstein's measure.

Marc Rotenberg, director of the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC), said the bill's current draft "contains too many exceptions and too few rights for Americans whose personal information has been improperly released."

Privacy Is Not A Priority

Critics question whether Feinstein's bills will do much to cure cavalier attitude government and business displays towards the security of individuals' data.

Every data breach from the Veterans' Administration to Boeing follows a familiar pattern: A massive data breach takes place, the company or agency claims it is an isolated incident, claims to somehow discern that the thieves were after the hardware not the data, offers token credit monitoring services to the victims, and goes back to whatever it was doing.

In the case of the VA, The Hill newspaper recently exposed the agency's lack of concern for Congressional mandates to improve its data security and collection procedures.

An unidentified whistleblower provided the newspaper with taped meeting conversations, in which VA officials expressed disdain for the demands.

"If you want to know what's the real purpose of the data call, read Machiavelli. It's about power, it's about Congress saying, 'VA, you're accountable to us,'" Veterans Affairs official Dr. Joseph Francis is quoted as saying. "We're not asking people to do an A-plus job on this report."

So far Congress has largely left it up to government agencies to decide how to safeguard data.

A bill was introduced in the previous Congress by Rep. Tom Davis (R-VA) to "institute procedures" for agencies to follow in the event of a data breach -- but that was essentially all it did, without any specific guidance as to what those procedures might be.

And the passage of bills criminalizing "pretexting" -- the practice of gaining individuals' records using false pretenses -- in the closing days of the last Congress was soured by the exemptions granted law enforcement, which torpedoed previous attempts to pass anti-pretexting laws.

What's in a name? If the name is AT&T, a lot of corporate ego, that's what.

Cingular Wireless, which used to be called Cellular One, is now owned by AT&T;, which has been called a lot of things, and is getting a new name -- "Wireless from AT&T.;" That's not to be confused with the old AT&T; Wireless service that was purchased by Cingular back in 2004.

Confused? Wait, it gets worse.

It's all a result of the merger and acquisition game -- AT&T; has owned part of Cingular since being acquired by co-parent company SBC Communications. Now AT&T; has just merged with Cingular's other parent, BellSouth.

The AT&T; name just seems to stick with this crowd. When SBC, formerly Southwestern Bell, bought AT&T; a few years ago, it planned to continue calling itself SBC. But after sleeping on it a few nights, inspiration struck and SBC changed its name to -- you guessed it -- AT&T.;

Like a black hole, AT&T; goes around sucking other telephone companies into its maw and renaming them. Let's see, there was Ameritech, Pacific Telesis, SNET and probably a few others we've forgotten about.

Never mind that SBC and BellSouth during their few decades of freedom from AT&T; spent an estimated $4 billion -- that's $4 billion -- building the Cingular brand, which is regarded by everyone except aging white men who work for AT&T; as a much cooler name than AT&T.; After all, didn't AT&T; Wireless have a reputation for having a clunky network and poor customer service?

Didn't Cingular just do a deal with Apple to provide the network for the iPhone? Didn't Cingular ingratiate itself with every teen-ager in the Western world by sponsoring "American Idol" and counting all those votes for Bucky, Kellie, Taylor and Katharine?

Haven't expensive branding consultant laughed aloud at the idea of trashing a world-class brand like Cingular in favor of a stodgy old scandal-ridden 1970s-sounding moniker like AT&T;?

Doesn't matter.

Starting Monday, Cingular stores will start changing their signs, stationery and uniforms; new ads will start appearing with AT&T;'s blue-globe-of-death logo instead of Cingular's cheery Big Orange motif.

The rationable offered by AT&T;'s dilberts is that consumers will now flock to AT&T; stores to buy more than just cell phones. Oh yes, they'll also be in hot pursuit of high-speed Interent, local telephone service and all those other cutting-edge AT&T; services.

Will it happen? Stay on the line to find out.

Judge L.T. Senter, Jr. ordered State Farm Fire & Casualty to pay $223,292 in damages to a Biloxi couple, who suffered the loss of their home in the devastating storm. The judge declined to award punitive damages in the case, but said the jury may choose to do so.

In an unusual move, the judge issued a directed verdict from the bench, then ordered a recess. He sent the jury to the jury room to begin deliberating punitive damages.

Norman and Genevieve Broussard say they lost their home when a tornado spawned by the massive hurricane slammed into it, leaving only a concrete slab.

The insurance company refused to pay, saying the home was destroyed by Katrina's storm surge, and that the policy did not cover water damage.

Attorneys for the property owners accused State Farm of breaching their contract, trying to "chisel" their way out of legitimate obligations. In addition to covering the replacement cost of their home, the plaintiffs are also seeking $5 million in punitive damages.

"We are surprised and disappointed by the court's ruling," said State Farm spokesman Phil Supple. "The expert testimony supported a different result. After the conclusion of this case, we will evaluate our next steps in this lawsuit."

Kraft Foods, the maker of Capri Sun -- foil pouches filled with a solution of water, high-fructose corn syrup, and small amounts of juice -- is being sued by a Florida woman for deceptively marketing the product as "All Natural."

The suit contends that the company's deceptive marketing tricks consumers into thinking the product is healthier than it actually is, perhaps encouraging some people to confuse the almost juice-less drink with real fruit juice.

Though high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) is no more harmful than other sugars, it is a plainly man-made ingredient, according to the nonprofit Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), which, alongside the Florida law firm of Varnell & Warwick, is representing the plaintiff in the class action suit.

"When I saw 'All Natural' on the label, that sounded healthier than soda," said Linda Rex, a Boynton Beach, Fla., grandmother and the plaintiff in the suit, who purchased Capri Sun for a young relative visiting from Ireland. "But when I got home and got out my glasses, I threw it in the garbage when I realized it contained high-fructose corn syrup and was nearly identical to soda."

It may sound like it comes from corn in the same way sugar comes from sugar cane or sugar beets, but HFCS is created by a complex industrial process performed in refineries using centrifuges, hydroclones, ion-exchange columns, backed-bed reactors and other high-tech equipment. Starch is extracted from corn and then converted by acids or enzymes to glucose. Then some of the glucose is further converted by enzymes into fructose.

HFCS has only been widely used in food since the 1980s. CSPI says that while the glucose and fructose in HFCS are identical to naturally occurring glucose and fructose, the fact that chemical bonds are broken and rearranged in their production disqualifies them from being called natural. For instance, while a scientist might be able to produce sugar by rearranging the molecules of any number of things that contain carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen, it clearly wouldn't be "natural" sugar.

"Though Capri Sun claims to be 'All Natural,' its main flavoring would more accurately be called Fresh from the Factory,'" said CSPI executive director Michael F. Jacobson.

"Let's put it this way: Unless you and your chemist friends are prepared to undertake a little Manhattan Project in your kitchen, you won't be brewing any high-fructose corn syrup from scratch anytime soon. How typical of a tobacco company, though, to call something like HFCS 'All Natural.'"

Kraft's parent company, Altria Group, also owns Philip Morris USA, which makes Marlboro, Virginia Slims, Basic, and Parliament brand cigarettes. Altria soon may seek to spin off Kraft, according to press reports.

Capri Sun is typically sold in boxes of 10 foil pouches. Both the boxes and the pouches use the words "All Natural," but only the boxes disclose the presence of high-fructose corn syrup in the fine print of the ingredients list. Kraft also makes Capri Sun "All Natural Fruit Rolls," which similarly contain HFCS.

The suit, filed in state court in Palm Beach County alleges that the "All Natural" claims are in direct violation of that state's Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act, and asks the court to order Kraft to drop the false statements.

This isn't the first time CSPI has challenged a food manufacturer for passing off HFCS as "all natural." In May, CSPI notified soda-giant Cadbury Schweppes that it would file a lawsuit against the company for rebranding 7UP as "100% Natural," despite the fact that it includes the factory-made sweetener.

CSPI agreed to a request from Cadbury to discuss settlement possibilities before a lawsuit is filed. Those discussions are continuing, but CSPI is likely to sue if the company doesn't agree to changes in the near future.

Also, several years ago CSPI alerted the Food and Drug Administration about an "all natural" product with artificial ingredients -- a line of Ben & Jerry's ice creams -- but the agency yawningly responded that it had "other priorities."

"It's a shame that a major company like Kraft tries to deceive consumers on food labels, and it's a greater shame still that the FDA lets them get away with it," said CSPI litigation director Stephen Gardner. "We look forward to hearing Kraft's lawyers defend their company's behavior in court."

The House today moved one step closer to allowing federally funded stem cell research, potentially yielding cures for Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases as well as many other disorders and traumas.

Stem cell research has been under fire from anti-abortion forces and the Bush administration because it requires the termination of embryos that are a byproduct of in vitro fertilization.

House Democrats argue that the passage of their bill, H.R. 3, could potentially save many more lives than the number of embryos that would be used for the research.

"We have a moral obligation to save the lives of the 100 million Americans whose diseases could be cured by stem cell research," Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-Calif.) said during today's debates.

The measure would allow the use of "excess" stem cells supplied by fertility clinics. According to the text of the bill, the embryos used in research would only be used if "it was determined that the embryos would never be implanted in a woman and would otherwise be discarded."

However, representatives who apposed H.R.3 also claimed that stem cell research can be performed from stem cells found in adult bone marrow and other parts of the body. But scientists salivate for the chance to use embryonic stem cells because it is generally believed that those stem cells are far more effective and can be used more broadly.

Despite the bipartisan 253-172 vote in support of the bill in the House, it's not likely to become law.

President Bush vetoed a similar bill in July 2006 and initially made most embryonic stem cell research illegal in 2001. It's not likely there are enough votes to override a veto this year and the closely-divided Senate is unlikely to pass a similar measure.

"The Administration strongly opposes House passage of H.R. 3, which would use Federal taxpayer dollars to support and encourage the destruction of human life for research," according to a White House statement released this morning.

Some Republicans are beginning to stray from the party line.

Rep. Joe Barton (R-Texas), a normally strict conservative, said, "I have voted 100 percent Pro-Life except for two stem cell issues ... If we can use this research to save more lives, especially when the embryos are being discarded as trash, I can't see any reason why this research can't be performed."

At the beginning of a new year, many consumers check their credit reports, taking advantage of the federal law that allows them once a year to access reports from all three credit reporting agencies at no charge, using www.annualcreditreport.com.

However, it's not always all that easy.

Many consumers seeking their free credit report apparently go instead to a commercial service -- FreeCreditReport.com, which is currently advertising on TV with youth-oriented commercials.

Despite its name, the credit monitoring service which comes with the credit report is not actually free, as Martin, of Hollywood, Florida, discovered late last year.

"I went to check out the freecreditreport.com site," Martin told ConsumerAffairs.com. There was supposed to be no charge; I am still being charged by Freecreditreport. My bank account is totally screwed up and overdrawn."

Fib, a recent immigrant to the U.S. living in San Francisco is a good example of a confused consumer. He says he went to FreeCreditReport.com from Edmunds.com, where he was researching an automobile purchase.

"Being very new to the Americans' credit history checking, I thought that free credit report is allowed by government once in 12 months. I signed up and thought I was signing up for this FREE credit report which I see each time I login. When billing comes, my credit card was charged for several months."

Opt out

Connie, a consumer in Woodbury, Minnesota, said she was also tricked into signing up for the not-so-free service, and faults the company for using "a deceptive method" to sign up customers. The problem, she says, could be resolved by a few simple changes on the FreeCreditReport.com Web site.

"It is an opt-out set-up so that if you request the free report and you fail to call and opt out before the 30 day free trial ends, you are stuck with the service until you do cancel," she told ConsumerAffairs.com. "I told them they could just as easily set up their website to be an opt in process so a consumer purposefully makes the decision to sign up for the service or not.

"Their kind of deceptive service depends upon customers like me who missed the information that was buried in the material prior to asking for the free report. I guess in the end, nothing is never really free...you end up paying one way or another."

Responding to criticism, FreeCreditReport.com says it does its best to make a clear distinction between its commercial service and the government's free credit report program.

It does provide a report at no charge, but it's up to the consumer to take a proactive step to avoid being charged for its monitoring service a practice known as "negative option" marketing.

"When you order your free report here, you will begin your free trial membership in Triple Advantage Credit Monitoring," the company states in a prominent position on its Web site. "If you don't cancel your membership within the 30-day trial period, you will be billed $14.95 for each month that you continue your membership.

Long history

The company is a subsidiary of Experian, one of the three credit reporting agencies. It was established in 1995, long before Congress enacted the law allowing for a free credit report each year.

In August 2005, Experian settled Federal Trade Commission charges that it deceptively marketed 'free credit reports' by not adequately disclosing that consumers automatically would be signed up for a credit report monitoring service and charged $79.95 if they didn't cancel within 30 days, in violation of federal law.

That case involved Consumerinfo.com, Inc., doing business as Experian Consumer Direct, another subsidiary of Experian.

Most victims of heart attack or stroke have little or no warning before they suffer a potentially fatal attack. But researchers writing in the Journal of the American Medical Association say a simple blood test might identify those likely to suffer a heart attack or stroke.

The research team says it linked the risk to the presence of a biomarker called NT-proBNP in the blood.

Patients with the highest level of the substance were up to eight times more likely to die or experience serious heart-related illness than those with the lowest levels of NT-proBNP.

Patients with the highest levels of NT-proBNP tended to be older and had other high risk factors, such as diabetes and high blood pressure. They were also more likely to be on strong medication such as beta-blockers and statins, according to the study.

NT-proBNP stands for N-terminal prohormone Brain-type Natriuretic Peptide. It has previously been identified as a biomarker for heart failure, but this study has found it to be a predictor of other, serious cardiac-related illness.

Coronary Heart Disease is the single leading cause of death among Americans, according to the American Heart Association. One in five deaths is caused by CHD. More than one million heart attacks are reported every year.

A nationwide debt consolidation business violated federal law by misleading and illegally telemarketing millions of consumers, according to the Federal Trade Commission. The company operates under the names Express Consolidation, Express Consolidation Inc., and Consumer Credit Consolidation Inc.

According to the FTC's complaint, the scheme, which bills itself as "America's Premier Debt Consolidation Company" is violating the FTC Act and the FTC's Telemarketing Sales Rule (TSR), led by a Florida attorney who is using a sham nonprofit company to violate telemarketing rules that exempt legitimate nonprofit entities.

According to the complaint, the defendants have violated the FTC Act and the TSR by falsely claiming:

• that they are a nonprofit entity;
•that the only cost for their services is a monthly administrative fee that is less than $49 and/or that there is no application fee;
•that their services will result in estimated savings of a specified amount, typically several thousand dollars; and
•that their services will reduce the consumer's monthly payment or total debt, or will improve their credit rating.

In fact, the complaint states, in addition to a monthly administrative fee, the defendants charge a fee equal to the monthly payment, which is collected from the consumer's first payment; they overstate the estimated savings, if any; their services do not necessarily reduce the consumer's monthly payment or total debt; and they do not provide any service to improve, or prevent deterioration of, a customer's credit record, history, or rating.

The complaint contends that the defendants also violated the TSR by failing to disclose the program's total costs, and by telling consumers that certain payments are refundable without disclosing all the limitations of the program's refund policy.

The defendants' other alleged TSR violations are calling telephone numbers listed on the Do Not Call Registry, calling consumers who have stated they do not wish to receive such calls from the defendants, failing to pay the fee to access the Registry, and "abandoning calls."

According to the complaint, the defendants have used computerized telemarketing services for "voice broadcasting," the delivery of recorded messages to telephone answering machines and voice mail services. The TSR requires that such calls answered by a person be connected to a live representative within two seconds.

This restriction on abandoning calls by hanging up or playing a recording when someone answers applies to calls selling goods or services, and calls for charitable contributions.

As noted in the complaint, one telemarketer the defendants used is The Broadcast Team (TBT). TBT was sued by the U. S. Department of Justice in December 2005 at the FTC's request for TSR violations. According to the complaint, TBT caused almost 11 million abandoned calls on the defendants' behalf.

Urging consumers to contact the defendants, one recorded message delivered to answering machines stated, "We are a nonprofit agency that can consolidate your credit cards, lower your monthly payments dramatically, and reduce your interest rates down to as low as 1.5 percent."

The defendants also use mail and Web sites -- www.expressconsolidation.org and www.expressconsolidation.com -- to get consumers to contact them, the complaint alleges. Once consumers provide information about their debts, defendants' agents give consumers a specific monthly payment they would have to make to cover payments to creditors and the program's fee. These total monthly payments are typically several hundred dollars.

Besides the companies, the defendants include attorney Randall L. Leshin, Randall L. Leshin, P.A., and Maureen A. Gaviola.

While BlueHippo has profited handsomely from charging poor Americans top dollar for cheap products, the company's nonprofit arm, the BlueHippo Foundation, has touted all the great things it is doing to help close the gap of today's "digital divide" and to help the same people who fall victim to company's policies.

Joseph Rensin, BlueHippo's founder and CEO started the BlueHippo Foundation in May 2006 to "help brighten the futures and fortunes of America's children through improved financial literacy and a narrowing of the digital divide," according to the foundation's website.

BlueHippo has released a handful of press releases gloating about the scholarships it offers and about the foundation's "partnership" with the Boys and Girls Club of America. But specifics on actual donations are vague. It's also not clear whether the foundation is an actual 501(c)(3) nonprofit and if it is, its financial records will not be available to the public until at least June 2007.

The BlueHippo Foundation website, which is riddled with grammatical errors, claims two times that the company has a partnership with The Boys and Girls Club of America and proudly displays the club's logo.

"Through a newly formed partnership with the Boys and Girls Club of America, the BlueHippo Foundation is helping to narrow the America's digital divide [sic] by donating computers and equipment to Clubs in areas where access to advanced technologies may not be readily available," the website states.

A letter from BlueHippo CEO Rensin that appears on the website mentions the partnership.

But Brian Hill, a spokesman for the Boys and Girls Club of America said he had never heard of the BlueHippo Foundation.

"We don't currently have a national relationship with BlueHippo," Hill said.

"They probably made a few donations to some local Boys and Girls Clubs, put our logo on their website and are now claiming to have a partnership," Hill said after looking at the foundation's website. "We're going to have to get them to update their site."

Hill was right. Although BlueHippo vowed to engage in a variety of philanthropic activities "over the coming months," according to a press release, the BlueHippo Foundation has made only two donations to local Boy and Girls Clubs over more than six months.

Although the lengthy press releases are vague on any details regarding any actual donations, through research, ConsumerAffairs.com determined that to this day, the BlueHippo Foundation has donated a total of seven computers. Assuming the computers are a little nicer than the ones the company sells, the BlueHippo Foundation has donated approximately $6,000 worth of computer equipment.

The first donation, on July 27, 2006, was "the creation of three new computer labs for area chapters of the Salvation Army Boys and Girls Club of America," according to the lead in a press release.

Deeper in the correlating press release, one discovers that the computer labs actually already existed. The press release gives almost no specifics on the donation or what Boys and Girls Clubs actually received the donation.

ConsumerAffairs.com called all the D.C.-area Boys and Girls Clubs and determined that by "three new computer labs," BlueHippo actually meant "two new computers" to three Boys and Girls Clubs, according to those clubs' directors.

The second and final donation, according to the press releases was "computer equipment" donated to a Boys and Girls Club in McKeesport, Pa. on Oct. 5, 2006. The computer equipment was included in an auction. Although the press release is 257 words, there is no mention of what the "computer equipment" was or how much it fetched in the auction.

In reality, that "computer equipment" was in fact, one Gateway computer that fetched $600 in the auction according to Tom Maglicco, the club's director.

BlueHippo also has said that the BlueHippo Foundation will offer scholarships to "two Maryland community college students to assist in their study of computer science or mathematics," according to a press release.

So far it's unclear whether anyone has received any money through this scholarship.

The "scholarship" link on the foundation's website transfers to a page that has stated for at least three months that, "the BlueHippo Foundation will be offering dozens of scholarships to cover the tuition for students attending community colleges across the country. ... Details will be released in the near future."

Big Spender

The BlueHippo Foundation is not the first philanthropic endeavor for BlueHippo Funding.

While The Baltimore Sun was investigating BlueHippo in 2004, Rensin said he was donating money to the Baltimore Zoo. Before The Sun's article came out on Feb. 15, 2004, the website promised that some of the proceeds from sales would go straight to the zoo.

"We just write them a check," Rensin said in The Sun article. "We bundle them up and pay them once a quarter."

The day after The Sun's interview with Rensin, the newspaper called the zoo and zoo officials said they had received a payment that morning for $1,002. It was the first contact they had had with BlueHippo.

ConsumerAffairs.com called the zoo last month and zoo spokeswoman Lainie Contreras would not say how much BlueHippo had donated but verified that the zoo has only received one donation from the company.

Trouble Follows BlueHippo's Founder

BlueHippo lures thousands of consumers with its lack of a credit check and "guaranteed approval." However, there are other, fiscally superior, options that also do not require a credit check.

For about $500 to $600 at any number of reputable retailers, mail-order and Internet outlets, you can get a complete computer package with a monitor and printer. Individuals will find it useful and it's a necessity for families with children. A computer is an essential research tool for school and for such crucial tasks as finding a job.

BlueHippo sells computers to people who have bad credit by putting them on a layaway plan. The consumer does not actually get the computer until they have paid nearly the full value of the machine. Even after the consumer finally gets the computer, BlueHippo continues charging for it.

It doesn't have to be this way. Instead of doing BlueHippo's $2,000 layaway plan, you could just as easily get a computer by doing your own layaway plan.

If you need a new computer but have credit problems, layaway is a great option. To do it, open a new checking account at your bank, which most banks will do for free or very little. Then, every week, instead of giving BlueHippo $40, deposit $40 into that account. Most banks will even automatically make those deposits for you from another account if you want.

After just four months there will be $640 plus whatever interest may have accrued. That should be plenty to buy a new basic computer package.

If you're on a tight budget, you may also want to consider buying a used or refurbished computer. There are lots of used computers on websites such as Craigslist.org. You can find excellent buys at Dell's online outlet.

Many local computer stores will also sell used computers and can usually provide good advice based on the consumer's needs. Besides Dell, Newegg.com, CDW.com and Overstock.com are good sources for refurbished or overstocked computers.

Once you have saved enough money, do as much research as possible. See what other consumers are saying about various manufacturers on our computer complaint page. Also be sure to shop around to see what the going rates for certain specifications are.

Here are a few guidelines on what to look for in a personal computer (PC):

1. If you need a computer to take out of the home, then get a laptop. If not, get a desktop. Desktops are cheaper, faster and easier to fix and to upgrade.

2. If you're on a budget you probably should avoid Apple computers since they are generally far more expensive than personal computers that run on Windows software. The Apple warranty is also slim to non-existent in many cases.

3. When buying a PC with an Intel processor, make sure it has at least a Pentium 4, Centrino or Celeron processor. If it has an AMD processor make sure it is at least an Athlon XP. Don't be sold by processor speed. More megahertz does not mean more speed. For example, a Pentium 3 with more megahertz than a Pentium 4 will not be perceptibly faster.

4. A computer should have at least 256 Megabytes (MB) of random access memory (RAM). That's a minimum, most of today's programs run better with 512 MB of RAM. Adding RAM is by far the cheapest way to make a computer run more efficiently and thus, faster. Basically, a computer can't have too much.

5. Computers must have an updated operating system to run many of today's programs. So make sure the PC is utilizing any version of Windows XP because Microsoft no longer supports its older operating systems. Microsoft's new operating system, Windows Vista, which the company hopes to release in late January, is not necessary. Only the highest-end computers will take advantage of Vista's capabilities. For most computers, it will slow them down because it requires about double the RAM of XP.

6. A computer needs a pretty spacious hard drive. Like RAM, this is a fairly inexpensive way to keep the computer running efficiently. Consumers should avoid a computer with less than 40 gigabytes of hard drive space.

7. The cheapest monitor is usually the best one for the price. Standard cathode ray tube (CRT) monitors -- basically the big cumbersome ones -- have an excellent picture, are cheap and have long lives. They may be heavy, but a CRT won't weigh down your checkbook like a new liquid crystal display (LCD) monitor will.

8. For word processing, any version of Microsoft Word 2002 or newer should be adequate. Better yet, don't buy your word processing and spreadsheet progams. Google now offers free online word processing and spreadsheets. (Go to More Google Products" and choose "Docs & Spreadsheets"). You can buy Star Office online for about $70. It's comparable to Microsoft's products and a lot cheaper.

The computer market is as fluid as any, but with the above specifications, a computer should be able to perform basic tasks for years. There's no need to go deep into debt by paying more for less to the BlueHippos of the world.

BlueHippo Funding purports on countless TV advertisements to be the friend to those in need -- to those who otherwise could not afford a new computer or new TV. But with growing stacks of complaints on the shelves of almost every federal and state bureau, commission, department and consumer publication, along with mounting lawsuits, one has to wonder if, instead of a cerulean blue, the company's CEO and his hippo friend should be painted a greedy green.

BlueHippo, part of Edison Worldwide, is a Baltimore, Md.-based company that sells computers and TVs to consumers who have poor or no credit. Its customers are mostly individuals who have trouble managing money, do not have enough cash to pay the purchae price and don't qualify for credit from more traditional retailers.

The company's advertising has been spattered across American TVs since the BlueHippo's birth in April 2003. Since then, the ceaseless waves of complaints have flooded almost every ear that will listen.

A blogger on Blogger.com who calls himself NOTR, summed up BlueHippo's business practices this way:

"BlueHippo targets credit-impaired borrowers, hoping they also are math and shopping-impaired. Google it and you will find complaint after complaint about being ripped off by BlueHippo. Even the state of Illinois has filed a lawsuit against BlueHippo. Yet their advertising blitz continues unabated. It is little more than a form of extortion. Would television and radio carry an ad that said, "Not good with finances? Call us and we will rip you off some more?" Of course they wouldn't, but they do every time they broadcast an ad for BlueHippo."

The Better Business Bureau reports that as of March 2006, it had 924 complaints in the preceding three years. Maryland's Department of Justice has 328 over the past three years. Many other state Departments of Justice have also logged at least one complaint. ConsumerAffairs.com has received at least 90.

Story continues below video

Dancing Hippo

In the commercials, a silly, adorable, computer-animated, blue hippo dances around the screen, doing silly things like holding a sign upside down while interacting with cute children and adults. It's easy to see why so many people trust this company which seems dedicated to helping troubled consumers enslaved by the modern credit system.

But what the advertisements don't say is that the "brand new brand name" desktop computers, laptops and plasma TVs, will cost the consumer as much as five times the value of the product.

The TV advertisements along with the company's website repeatedly make it clear that there will be no credit check and that everyone is automatically approved.

But what is only found in the fine print is that BlueHippo requires $99 down plus 13 consecutive weekly payments of $39.99 for the PC and $49.99 for the laptop before the company will even consider sending the product. After that, there are 49 more payments of $39.99/$49.99 before the product is officially purchased.

That means, before taxes, that an individual must pay $619 before their PC is even shipped and $2178 to own the computer. Or, in the case of the laptop, $749 before it is shipped and $2698 before they own it. The website and TV ads do not specify what the payment plan for the TV is and when ConsumerAffairs.com called BlueHippo's customer service, they didn't seem to know anything about the advertisement for the TV that appears on the website.

Antiques

The computers that the website advertises are anemic archaic by today's standards. In fact, ConsumerAffairs.com could not find any PC manufacturer that even offers such a basic desktop.

The BlueHippo PC includes:
• 2.66 Gigahertz Intel processor (presumably Intel's low-end Celeron processor)
• 256 MB RAM
• 80 GB hard drive
• 17
• monitor
• CDR drive
• Windows XP (presumably the cheaper Home Edition)
• 3 year warranty
• Color printer
• And, randomly, a 20
• LCD TV

The cheapest "brand new brand name desktop computer" that ConsumerAffairs.com found was from Dell and is considerably faster than the BlueHippo offering but for comparison's sake, here's what $609 will get a consumer who shops at Dell:
• AMD Sempron 3400+ (way faster than any Intel 2.66 gigahertz offering)
• 512 MB RAM
• 80 GB, 7200 RPM hard drive
• 48x CD/RW and DVD ROM combo drive
• Nvidia GeForce 6150 graphics card
• Dolby 7.1 audio card
• 3 year + 90 day warranty
• 17
• monitor
• Windows XP Home Edition
• Color printer

BlueHippo also includes a 20" LCD TV, which can be purchased from www.newegg.com for about $200.

So the total BlueHippo package bought from Dell and NewEgg costs $809 versus $2,178 -- nearly three times as much -- for the same TV and considerably slower computer from BlueHippo.

For the BlueHippo price, an individual could buy a top-of-the line high-end computer and have money left over.

Laptops

The figures when comparing laptops are even more shocking. Here's what BlueHippo is offering:

• 1.6 Gigahertz Intel Celeron processor
• 40 GB hard drive
• 256 Megs of SDRAM
• CD Burner
• 15" screen
• Windows XP (presumably Home Edition)
• 1 year warranty
• Color printer

Meanwhile, Wal-Mart is offering a similar Acer laptop with slightly better specifications:

• 1.6 Gigahertz Intel Celeron processor
• 60 Gigabyte hard drive
• 512 MB of SDRAM
• CD-RW/DVD-ROM combo drive
• 15" screen
• Wireless Internet adaptor
• 5-in-1 card reader (for digital camera cards and other storage media)
• Windows XP Home Edition
• 1 year warranty
• Color Printer

Wal-Mart's laptop and printer total is $571 versus BlueHippo's slower laptop package which comes to $2,698 -- almost five times the cost of Wal-Mart's better offering.

In both examples it's important to keep in mind that a consumer shopping from BlueHippo must wait at least 13 weeks before their computer has arrived and that computer technology comes and goes with the seasons. In 13 weeks, the computers offered from Dell and Wal-Mart will be replaced by something newer and faster, for about the same price, if not less.