Jack Gray
AC360° Producer/Writer

It was around the time that I explained why I was going to Los Angeles – "Soleil Moon Frye invited me to a Twitter conference at The Kodak Theatre"  – that my friends’ heads exploded. It was as if I had never before flown cross-country to discuss social media with a TV icon at a Hollywood landmark. They had completely forgotten about that night outside Whisky A Go Go and the woman I thought was Alan Alda.

Nevertheless, I’m thrilled to be in L.A., a city I visit far too seldom. I didn’t realize how much I’ve missed its palm trees and Kardashians.

Frankly, the reason I don’t come to Los Angeles more often is that I have a slight to moderate fear of flying. Luckily, on my flight out, I was distracted by the gentleman next to me; a man who – for reasons known only to his grocer and/or therapist – kept fiddling with a variety of deli meats.

Transcontinental salami aside; it has so far been a great trip. The only caveat is that I’m nervous about this afternoon. That’s when I’ll be joining Ms. Moon Frye (call her Punky Brewster and she’ll cut you) and businesswoman/writer Jane Buckingham (she’ll hold you down while Punky cuts you) for a panel discussion of Twitter. Hardly a seasoned public speaker, I have no idea what to expect of myself. I suppose I should just play it safe and stick to religion and politics.

Of course, our panel discussion is just one of many over the course of the two-day 140 Conference. And while it and the fake Oscar acceptance speech I may or may not attempt to deliver before being ripped from the stage are stressing me out, it’s nothing compared to the anxiety I feel knowing that my boss, CNN/U.S. President Jon Klein, will be there. In. The. Same. Room. Watching. Me. Speak.

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David Gewirtz | BIO
AC360° Contributor
Editor-in-Chief, ZATZ Publishing

Every topic needs its own day or month, and I guess cybersecurity is no exception. This October is the sixth annual Cybersecurity Awareness Month sponsored by the Department of Homeland Security. And while it may seem silly for cybersecurity awareness to need its own month, there's nothing silly about keeping your computer secure.

Let me be very clear here: there are bad guys out there and they are trying to hurt you through your computer.

I know that seems melodramatic, but it's all too true. Cybercriminals, hackers, terrorists, and other malcontents (that sounds so "get off my lawn," doesn't it?) are constantly pushing the limits of Internet security. Most of the time, it's about making money. Sometimes, it's about breaking through security and gaining bragging rights. And, once in a while, it's about causing widespread chaos. No matter the motivation, it ain't good.

This is an arms race.

They'll find a way in, we'll create a new defense, they'll counter-program against the defense, and on and on and on. This is an arms race between security professionals and criminals. Fortunately, there's a lot you can do to defend yourself and your family, and once you've established the right mind-set, you'll be able to take some very basic precautions that'll go a long way to keeping you more secure.

So, let's talk about that mindset first. A lot of people I talk to tell me I'm worrying too much. They tell me they're not important enough to be attacked. They tell me that no one is going to go after them. They tell me that "just this once" there won't be a problem. They tell me that it's all a hoax.

It's not. Here's the thing: attacks are highly automated and easy to do. Every device on the Internet has a number, called an IP address, which consists of four sequences of up to three numbers, like 192.168.1.1. Each sequence ranges from 0 to 255, so the lowest number is 0.0.0.0 and the highest is 255.255.255.255.

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Andrew Torgan
CNN Financial News Producer

Gold continues to push higher into record territory amid concerns about a weak U.S. dollar, inflation and technical-based buying by large investment funds.

The December contract for gold rose $4.70 to settle at a fresh all-time high of $1,044.40 an ounce today. Earlier in the session, it traded as high as $1,048.20, topping Tuesday's intraday mark by $3 an ounce.

Gold, which is up 17% so far this year, has been supported recently by concerns about the dollar and bets that inflation will rise over the long term as the economy recovers and stimulus measures will have to be reversed.

Analysts expect the rally to continue and say gold could push past $1,050 this week and top $1,100 in the near future.

Sources: Administration considering safety net measures

Amid nervousness about states' economies and a growing unemployment rate, the Obama Administration is considering a series of measures aimed at putting many Americans back to work before the 2010 midterm elections, sources close to the process told CNN.

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Michael Schulder
CNN Senior Executive Producer

I’m not going to mention any real names in this piece, even though I only got wind of one person’s first name. But I experienced something today in a CNN rest room which all of us have probably had to confront. Whether to answer a cell phone call when you’re in the bathroom.

I never have answered a cell phone in a bathroom, for a variety of reasons. Protecting my cell phone from potential water damage is the least of those reasons. I think there are certain boundaries we need to preserve to maintain a civil society. This is not the most pressing issue on the civility front today. But it did turn my stomach when someone in the men’s room picked up the cell phone and proceeded to have a conversation as if it talking on a cell phone while in the process of a natural act were the most natural act in the world.

“Jim?”

Zip

“Yeah, we still on for lunch?”

Flush

“OK, that time sounds good for me.”

Hand wash (thank goodness).

And the conversation went on as the offender exited the bathroom.

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Andrew Torgan
CNN Financial News Producer

Sales of previously-owned homes fell in August, snapping a four-month streak of increases.

Existing home sales fell 2.7% last month from July to a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of 5.1 million units, but were up 3.4% from a year ago, according to the National Association of Realtors.

Sales had jumped 15.2% in the previous four months.

Lawrence Yun, the NAR's chief economist, said the drop may reflect delays in completing sales due to tough lending standards and new rules for appraisals.

Nationwide sales are up nearly 14% from their bottom in January, but are still down nearly 30% from their peak about four years ago. For the housing market to stabilize, Yun says sales would need to rise to a pace of around 5.5 million to 6 million.

Additionally, the median sales price was $177,700, down 12.5% from $203,200 in the same month last year.

One bright spot in the report: Despite the decrease in sales, the supply of homes on the market fell significantly in August. Total housing inventory fell by 10.8% to 3.62 million existing homes for sale. That's an 8.5-month supply, down from a 9.3-month supply in July.

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Program Note: Tune in tonight to learn more from Randi Kaye about the investigation into the alleged Craigslist murder. Tonight AC360° at 10 p.m. ET.

U.S. Department of Justice

The Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section (CCIPS) in the Department of Justice is responsible for implementing the Department's national strategies in combating computer and intellectual property crimes worldwide.

According to the DOJ's website, the Computer Crime Initiative is a comprehensive program designed to combat electronic penetrations, data thefts, and cyberattacks on critical information systems.

CCIPS prevents, investigates, and prosecutes computer crimes by working with other government agencies, the private sector, academic institutions, and foreign counterparts. Section attorneys work to improve the domestic and international infrastructure-legal, technological, and operational-to pursue network criminals most effectively.

To view a list of other cybercrime investigations and to learn how to report cybercrime go here.

Octavia Nasr | BIO
AC360° Contributor
CNN Senior Editor, Mideast Affairs

A Muslim call to prayer can now be accessed any time and anywhere thanks to social media networks such as Facebook and You Tube.

Across the world, Muslims are creating online communities to discuss and promote their religion. At the same time, this open discussion is exposing and highlighting issues and concerns considered taboo within Islam and the cultures in which they live.

Syrian blogger Ammar Abdel Hamid sees Facebook as a niche for the otherwise voiceless. “The internet came and gave an opportunity for activists for new voices for young people, for democracy promoters, for human rights activists' he says.

In the Arab world, gays and lesbians are taking to the internet to mingle with like-minded people and promote tolerance and understanding. This is especially significant because in their culture they are mainly rejected and still referred to in derogatory terms.

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David Gewirtz | BIO
AC360° Contributor
Editor-in-Chief, ZATZ Publishing

President Roosevelt may have had to contend with Hitler and Stalin, not to mention an occasionally naked Churchill (look it up), but at least he didn't have to deal with the blogosphere.

President Obama has no such luck. He's the second President who not only has a fourth estate, but a completely unruly and often full-goose-bozo body of bloggers, just looking for any excuse to increase their "hits" and drive up the pennies they're given for their thoughts from Google's ad revenue service.

This time, trumpets the blogs, the White House has a "secret plan" to "harvest personal data from social networking sites."

First, it's not a plan, and, second, it's not exactly a secret.

It's a publicly available government procurement document, and just for you, I've read all 51 excruciatingly boring pages of the thing.

The White House isn't trying to get at your secrets. Instead, the White House is proactively attempting to comply with the Presidential Records Act (PRA) by interpreting postings to social networking sites - if posted by members of the Executive Office of the President - as possible Presidential records.

This is a good thing.

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Andrew Torgan
CNN Financial News Producer

In these tough times, we’re all cutting back on everything from eating out to taking a vacation. But there’s one thing that millions of us seem to be able to afford: an iPhone.

We spent $1.7 billion dollars on iPhones in just the last three months.

Apple sold 5.2 million iPhones last quarter, including the new 3GS model. That’s more than seven times the number the company sold a year ago.

Sales are so strong that Apple’s having a hard time keeping up with iPhone demand. And even though iPod sales slipped from a year ago, they still topped 10 million players.

Heath care in the spotlight

President Obama holds a prime time press conference at the White House tonight amid his continued push for health care reform legislation.

So what does health care reform mean for you? More than 160 million Americans get their health insurance through work. 14 million Americans buy health insurance on their own. And 49 million Americans have no coverage at all.

How will the health care bills moving through Congress affect these groups? Will it lower premiums? CNNMoney.com has the breakdown.

Stocks churn on Wall Street

Stocks bounced in and out of positive territory this morning as investors took a breather from the recent run-up to sort through earnings reports from the likes of Morgan Stanley, Wells Fargo and Apple.

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