online consumers

Britain's business secretary, Lord Mandelson, says he will press for controversial legislation that would kick off the Internet -- at least temporarily -- persistent downloaders of copyrighted material. If the so-called three-strikes law is passed by Parliament, people who flaunt repeated warnings will see their Internet access "suspended" for short periods.

The changing demographics of potential e-book buyers are reason enough for market leaders to begin rethinking their sales strategies, according to a new survey by Forrester Research.

Future sales prospects for e-book readers bear scant resemblance to the high-earning male tech optimists who own these devices today, said Forrester analyst Sarah Rotman Epps. Instead, the next wave of buyers is likely to feature females who read a lot, but buy fewer books online than early adopters.

With economic uncertainty tainting everyone's holiday spirit, consumers are bracing to stay within their budgets -- especially when it comes to holiday shopping. This year, experts say, gift-givers will find some of the best deals online.

"Online shopping will be second only to discount shopping for customers in terms of finding value for their money," said Steve Lemelin, regional leader of consumer business for Deloitte. "For that very reason, it's the multi channel retailers who are going to fare better this season."

The Federal Trade Commission is getting an earful about Internet privacy. The opinions on the FTC's proposed self-regulatory principles to govern online advertising vary widely, with Microsoft taking bold steps to suggest an approach it deems "comprehensive."

If you know what a "botnet" is, you're in the minority: Seven out of 10 computer users have never heard of these bot armies that can hijack unsecured computers. So while the quote from The Art of War, "Know your enemy," is frequently used to exhort security professionals to understand the mind-set of the malicious attacker, a more appropriate sentiment for Web surfers is, "Know the threats."