Symantec 'security scan' distributes rootkit

"Symantec Security Check is a free web-based tool that enables users to test their computer's exposure to a wide range of on-line threats," the press release begins. Unfortunately, Symantec Security Check has also been installing an on-line threat of its own in the form of a dangerous ActiveX control.

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EZ-D creator readies disposable DVDs

A New York-based company has begun touting disposable DVDs that could radically change the way consumers acquire movies for domestic viewing.

If Flexplay has its way, rental and retail DVDs will be offered on a new type of disc the company plans to launch next month. The disc, dubbed EZ-D, is built of special plastics that become opaque when exposed to the air. Sold in air-tight packages, consumers have 48 hours to watch the movie before the DVD becomes a coaster.

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'Open and helpful community' - of credit card thieves

Credit card fraud "power users" with programming skills and no fear are making it easier for newbies to break into white collar crime, according to a report from the Honeynet Research Alliance this week.

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Hackers Hijack PC's for Sex Sites

Hackers Hijack PC's for Sex Sites

More than a thousand unsuspecting Internet users around the world have recently had their computers hijacked by hackers, who computer security experts say are using them for pornographic Web sites.

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Hacker Contest Mostly About Hype

Hacker Contest Mostly About Hype
It was supposed to be a battle royal, a contest pitting hackers worldwide in a bid to deface as many websites as possible.

But the so-called Defacers Challenge, which took place over the Fourth of July holiday weekend, fizzled like a damp firecracker. It was all smoke, no sparks.

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Met swoops after nuclear hacking

Met swoops after nuclear hacking

The Metropolitan Police's Computer Crimes Unit has arrested an 18-year old London man after a hacking attack on a nuclear research laboratory of the US Department of Energy.
The attack occurred in June 2002 when 17 unclassified computers at the laboratory in Botavia, Illinois, were illegally accessed.

The hacker placed music and video files on the labs computer, which internet users could then download. Enquiries revealed that the attacking computer was based in the UK and the Met's specialist computer crime unit was alerted.

The arrested man was taken to a north London police station on 9 July, where he is being bailed to return in mid-August, pending forensic examination of the computers seized from his home.

Police do not believe that any sensitive information was either stolen or accessed during the hacking but enquiries into all aspects of the attack continue.

Talking computers nearing reality

Talking computers nearing reality

Machines that listen and talk like humans are becoming a reality, many researchers and executives say.

The technical kinks, high costs and application misfires that have held back the acceptance of speech recognition and activation--one of computing's Holy Grails--are being ironed out, they say. As a result, companies are coming out with a variety of products that will let consumers access databases using voice commands, or transform e-mails into one- or two-way verbal exchanges

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Confusing jargon blamed for IT spending slump

Confusing jargon blamed for IT spending slump

Consumers are putting off purchases because of obscure terms such as 'megahertz', 'Bluetooth' and 'DVR', according to a survey
Consumers are balking at technology purchases because they don't understand the technology in PCs and other high-tech gadgets, according to a new survey carried out on behalf of an AMD Consumer Research Group.

The AMD Global Consumer Advisory Board (GCAB), founded by processor manufacturer AMD, claims that the study is the first to quantify the effect that tech confusion has on purchasing behaviour.

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MyLife virus strikes at ten to midnight

MyLife virus strikes at ten to midnight

Sophos has detected several incidents of a new MyLife virus that attempts to delete sys files at 10 minutes to the hour.
W32/MyLife-M is an email worm that spreads by sending itself through Outlook to addresses found in the Outlook address book.

http://www.pcpro.co.uk/news/news_story.php?id=44317]Full Story[/url]

Stopping the Spammers

Stopping the Spammers

With nearly one in two e-mails being junk, consumers could stop doing business electronically. Danny Bradbury finds out how spammers work and what IT departments can do to fight them.

Asimple invitation enticing people to a reception for a new DEC-20 machine from an engineer in 1978 got the spam ball rolling. Now, it is threatening to seriously hinder e-mail as a medium for commercial communications. E-mail filtering company Brightmail has reported that 46% of all mails that it encounters are spam. If nearly one in two e-mails received are junk, consumers could easily revert to other means of communication. Clearly, something has to be done...full story here