Business

Internet advertising companies and Web sites should disclose their placement of "Web bugs" to ease users' concerns that their online moves may be unknowingly tracked, according to a new proposal presented on Wednesday by the Privacy Foundation.

Two noted privacy watchdog groups have ended partnerships with Amazon.com over recent changes in the online bookseller's privacy policy.

The shakeout shark may not be finished gobbling up little dot-coms just yet, but for reasonably cautious investors, the news is good: It's safe to go back into the water.

Everyone must be stupid. That's the only conclusion possible in light of the recent report released by the General Accounting Office (GAO) on the lamentable state of U.S. government Web site security.

Internet auctions have become a place for businesses of all sizes to make money -- to the tune of nearly $55 billion (US$) in sales a year. Still, the leading auction sites have retained something of their original flair as a place for passionate collectors of odds and ends to exchange prized posses...

America Online, Inc. (NYSE: AOL) has announced the creation of a "Bargain Basement" area on its Web site, with brand-name clothes, consumer electronics, housewares and other items offered at prices up to 80 percent below retail.

Furthering the trend toward e-tail consolidation, Barnesandnoble.com (Nasdaq: BNBN) announced late Wednesday that it will purchase online professional and technical bookseller Fatbrain.com (Nasdaq: FATB) in a deal worth roughly $64 million (US$).

With much less fanfare than past releases, Microsoft Corp. (NYSE: MSFT) officially launched its Windows Millennium Edition, known as "Windows Me," Thursday morning.

The eBay auction of F**kedCompany.com, a three month-old satiric Web site that tracks the demise of dot-coms, has been canceled after sparking a media frenzy and attracting bids in excess of $3 million (US$).

Nearly two-thirds of Canadian retailers believe they are lagging behind their U.S. counterparts when it comes to e-commerce, according to IDC Canada's "National Online Retail Industry Study."

A study released Wednesday by online research firm Jupiter Communications says that kids and teens will only spend $4.9 billion (US$) online in 2005, but the research they do online will drive an estimated $21.4 billion in offline spending.

America Online (Nasdaq: AOL) said Wednesday it will launch a free portal aimed at helping millions of small businesses get online and use the Web for advertising, selling and gathering information.

Manufacturers and shippers need to shore up weak supply links or risk crumbling under the surging demand of a global e-commerce market that is set to skyrocket to $6.8 trillion (US$) by 2004, warn two new reports from Forrester Research.

In a bid to provide tighter security for e-commerce and other transactions, Visa U.S.A. rolled out its new digital-based "smart card" on Tuesday. The smart card will store customer identification and account information within a microprocessor chip, and only smart card readers will be able to access...

Presenting the biggest change in the Mac operating system in 16 years, Apple Computer (Nasdaq: AAPL) released the public test version of its new Macintosh computer operating system Wednesday.