Government dissidents like to keep their plans a secret, particularly in countries with poor human-rights efforts. But the folks at Mozilla may be inadvertently helping those dissidents out when it sent a cease-and-desist letter Tuesday to a European company that makes spyware, the UK’s PC Advisor reports.

Computer-security researchers at the University of Toronto’s Citizen Lab discovered that the spyware FinSpy was making itself look a whole lot like Mozilla’s Firefox browser. When recipients downloaded the file, the data on the computer became accessible to an external user as well as the ability to watch and listen to the computer’s user through the machine’s camera and microphone. Citizen Lab found that FinSpy “is being used in a number of countries with poor human rights records and has been used to target activists.” 

FinSpy is owned by the UK’s Gamma Group, which is now the recipient of a letter from Mozilla asking the company to stop disguising its product as Firefox. Citizen Lab reports that FinSpy doesn’t just make itself look like Firefox; it actually “makes use of Mozilla's trademark and code.”Continue reading...

Stunned by the 11th-hour blocking of his ban on large-soda purchases by an inimical state judge, NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg sallied forth on Tuesday and made another new enemy—or at least a bigger one than it was.

As a major purveyor of soft drinks that would violate the ban being sought by Hizzoner, Yum! and its restaurant brands weren't all that excited about Bloomberg in the first place. Then, on Tuesday, Bloomberg visited a local independent eatery, Lucky's Restaurant, to thank the purveyors for honoring the spirit of his initiative.

During the press event, the mayor held up a cup from Yum!'s KFC brand to make his point about drinks so huge they would clearly violate the new law he seeks to impose—and Getty Images snapped an interesting photo.Continue reading...

Call it a bribe. Call it a “reverse” endorsement deal. Call it an embarrassing brand Situation.

You’d think that Abercrombie & Fitch Co., a retailer notorious for bombarding young mall shoppers (and their parents) with multiple versions of its brand, would be flattered that the cast of MTV's The Jersey Shore, one of the few things more popular among A&F’s audience than A&F itself, embrace the brand’s clothing.

But it seems even a brand with questionable hiring practices, one of the more eccentric CEOs you’ll ever meet, and a reputation for sexually explicit and racist clothing has its limits. In a press release entitled “Abercrombie & Fitch Proposes a Win-Win Situation,” A&F claims that it is “deeply concerned that Mr. [Mike ‘The Situation’] Sorrentino's association with our brand could cause significant damage to our image.” So, in attempt to cease this damaging association, A&F is offering “substantial payment” to Sorrentino, as well as his hard-partying castmates, to ditch their Fitch.Continue reading...

Want a recipe for how to burn your brand in the Internet oven and become an online celebrity in the bargain?

Consider Cooks Source, a small but previously well respected cooking magazine that recently managed to make a blogosphere tempest out of what should have been a simple pot of tea. 

The small online-and-print magazine, based in Massachusetts, ran a historical piece called “American as Apple Pie – Isn’t!” The story, penned by writer Monica Gaudio and originally published in 2005 under the title “A Tale of Two Tarts” by Godecookery.com, was used without Gaudio’s knowledge or permission, according to her blog. After a friend congratulated her on the story appearing in Cooks Source, Gaudio contacted editor Judith Griggs and ultimately asked for an apology on Facebook, a printed apology in the magazine and a $130 donation to the Columbia School of Journalism. Continue reading...

Yahoo is learning, the hard way, that marriages of convenience are often more difficult than they first appear. Earlier this month the company made a telling announcement: its global “It’s You” campaign would skip China completely.

Why? Because Yahoo China isn’t run by Yahoo. It’s run by the Chinese Alibaba Group (AG), a deal Yahoo struck to get into the Chinese market by giving Alibaba full control over Yahoo China, in exchange for a $1 billion, 39% investment in AG.

So Yahoo has no real control over its brand in China, and this is proving dangerous. The China Internet Illegal Information Reporting Center put Yahoo on its list of sites featuring “vulgar content,” blaming a user-generated section of the site.Continue reading...

Corona is the latest brand to suffer the headache of a brand-damaging fake ad. The "ad," which features the Corona brand and the message "Drink Us and We'll Hire More Mexicans in Mexico," looks professional enough to be believed as real, at first glance.

But it's another phony, like the child-unfriendly fake ads that sent Hasbro toys brand scrambling to do damage control, though the ads were nothing big in the eyes of many. When fake ads aren't offensive -- and it's an admittedly fine line -- they can conceivably add a little vavoom to a brand (while the brand gets to deny involvement).Continue reading...