Internet blows CIA agents` cover

The Chicago Tribune says it has compiled a list of 2 653 CIA employees, just by searching the Internet, the BBC reports. The newspaper said it gathered the information from online services that compile public data which any fee-paying subscriber can access.

It did not publish the names at the CIA`s request. Many of the agents are believed to be covert. The paper also located two dozen "secret" facilities. A CIA spokeswoman admitted the Internet had scuppered some of its methods.

"Cover is a complex issue that is more complex in the Internet age," said Jennifer Dyck. "There are things that worked previously that no longer work."

Microsoft continues to flout its antitrust order, the European Commission (EC) said on Friday in two strongly worded statements. The EC has again written to Redmond explaining where it`s failing to comply with a 2004 decision by the competition office, The Register reports.

Further study of Microsoft`s submissions - it`s obliged to document its protocols and interfaces - revealed them to be "entirely inadequate". The EC also compared Microsoft`s protocol documentation to "bloatware", and implied that Microsoft hadn`t read the decision it was legally obliged to obey.

The EC said Microsoft had fundamentally misunderstood the role of its monitoring trustee Neil Barrett. His role "should not only be reactive, but should play a proactive role in the monitoring of Microsoft`s compliance." Microsoft had accused Barrett of colluding with competitors by meeting with them regularly.

Datran Media, an e-mail marketing company, has agreed to pay $1.1 million to settle accusations that it misused personal data reportedly mined from six million e-mail addresses across the US, reports CNet.

The settlement is scheduled to be announced today, New York`s assistant attorney general Karen Geduldig said, noting that her office began investigating Datran in the summer of 2005. She declined to provide further details of Datran`s alleged actions.

Datran sends marketing e-mail messages to addresses provided by partner companies, a practice that some people consider spam. Its clients include Business Week, Columbia House, Fox Home Entertainment, NASCAR, Orbitz and Pitney Bowes.