Spying

A prolonged legal fight with the movie industry has forced TorrentSpy, BitTorrent's popular search engine, to shut down.

"The legal climate in the USA for copyright, privacy of search requests, and links to torrent files in search results is simply too hostile," said a note on TorrentSpy's front door. "We spent the last two years, and hundreds of thousands of dollars, defending the rights of our users and ourselves... we now feel compelled to provide the ultimate method of privacy protection for our users - permanent shutdown."

In 2006, the largest Hollywood film studios … Read more

As people seek out all manner of gadget-powered therapy--even for their pets--there may be something much simpler available to soothe the soul. Such as a "Sound Bubbler."

This iPod dock's name pretty much says it all, as it releases bubbles in sync with the beat and rhythm of your tunes, according to Chip Chick. It even comes in three colors, though they have a long way to go before re-creating a true '60s atmosphere. Still, it's better than nothing if you're whiling away the time while chained to the desk and sure beats USB aromatherapy.… Read more

These spy sunglasses may look more Maxwell Smart than James Bond, but the built-in 1.3-megapixel camera might be worth the fashion sacrifice for extended stakeouts.

ThinkGeek's spy-cam shades come with an RF remote control, so any aspiring secret agent can snap a few shots of his subject without ever having to take his hands out of his pockets. And while waiting, he can also listen to this favorite tracks through the built-in earbuds.

Back at HQ, the images can be downloaded through a USB 2.0 port and the lithium-ion battery recharged for another 9 hours of shooting. … Read more

Thought you could get rid of those incriminating text messages with a simple Delete? Not so fast, Tex. Gadget blogs are all abuzz over a little device that purports to enable users to recover and view deleted data stored on almost any cell phone SIM card.

"Have you ever wished you can spy on your wife, husband, teens, or colleague's phone to see what they are up to? Are they being suspicious when on their cell phone?" asks New York-based BrickHouse Security, which also sells marijuana identification kits and all manner of spy cameras. It says it … Read more

With all of the attention that the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) update (and the administration's vigorous attempts to immunize the criminals telcos), it seems like a good time to explore the issues surrounding surveillance and privacy in America today.

While there are so many scary things being done by intelligence and law enforcement, hope is not far away. Easy to use privacy technologies are upon us, and with them, comes a radical shift in the balance of power. As this article will explain, the scalable techniques with which the NSA, FBI and other agencies can spy on innocent … Read more

Not content with bringing you a veritable avalanche of our own blogs, galleries, and video coverage from the Detroit auto show, CNET.com has teamed up with AutoSpies.com for even more slide-show action.

Fuel efficiency and reduced emissions are all the rage among automakers this year, and even the supercar manufacturers are getting in on the act. Check out our image gallery of some of the red-hot, green-minded sports cars from this year's North American International Auto Show.

We won't venture to guess why spy bots are so popular on the consumer market, but there's just one question that continues to nag us: Is anybody really fooled by their appearance? It's one thing if they're pawned off as some sort of RC robot or toy, but the design of this latest entry pretty much broadcasts its intent.

The "Spy Snooper Robot Vehicle" from iiRobotics has what looks like a mini-satellite dish and antenna mounted atop a six-wheeled tank, ready to capture every word from the subject under surveillance. It does have a … Read more

It's not that we're paranoid or anything, but we're certain that covert surveillance cameras are everywhere in our midst. It doesn't help that we're keenly aware of all the pen cameras, pen camcorders, and even pen DVRs on Crave.

Finally, there's a writing instrument designed to fight back against the secret societies that threaten our privacy. The "Auto Detective Pen" from Chinavasion will supposedly start flashing like crazy if it detects wireless signals within a 10-meter radius that could be used to operate spy cams and other clandestine gadgetry. As Uber-Review says, … Read more

To avoid having to turn over user information to the motion picture industry, the BitTorrent indexing service TorrentSpy cut off access to its site in the United States. Apparently, that wasn't enough to satisfy Hollywood.

According to documents filed with the court last week and reviewed by CNET News.com on Wednesday, the studios still want information on the site's visitors. Lawyers representing the studios--armed with a court order--say TorrentSpy has refused to hand over the data. Because of that, the movie sector wants the judge to throw the book at the company.

"(TorrentSpy) took steps to … Read more