News: Cryptome will take actions to court.

Microsoft Corp. today withdrew its demand that Cryptome.org yank the "Microsoft Global Criminal Spy Guide" document from its site and said it had never intended for the whistleblower's domain to be knocked off the Web. "In this case, we did not ask that this site be taken down, only that Microsoft copyrighted content be removed," said a Microsoft spokeswoman in an e-mailed statement early today. "We are requesting to have the site restored and are no longer seeking the document's removal."

The document, a 17-page guide that Microsoft prepared to show law enforcement how to obtain information about users of its online services -- including Windows Live Hotmail, the Xbox Live gaming network and the Windows Live SkyDrive storage service -- was published by John Young, who runs Cryptome.org, on Feb. 20.

Earlier this week, Microsoft demanded that Young remove the document from his site, citing the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). When Young refused, his Internet provider shut down the site, and Network Solutions LLC, the registrar of Young's domain, put a "legal lock" on the domain name. That last move prevented him from transferring the URL to another Internet service provider.

Originally, Young had been told he had until today to remove the document from his site or face the consequences. Instead, his ISP pulled the plug and Network Solutions locked the domain name a day early, forcing him to scramble Wednesday to find a temporary home for his site.

Today, Network Solutions unlocked the domain and restored the site. Cryptome.org returned to the Web shortly before 3 p.m. Eastern time.

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(img: about.com)