Registry-locking worm in the wild

Sophos has alerted users to a new variant of the Yaha virus strain that tries to lock the Registry to prevent itself being disabled. The worm masquerades as an email with a variety of subjects and messages, some purporting to be a fix for the Blaster viruses. The attachments are either zip or com file extensions - a bid to sneak past antivirus software that may not scan such file formats by default. ...more

New studio is TV free

Formac has released the Studio DV, a new cheaper version of its video input hardware. Studio DV is a FireWire device that converts video from a VCR, camcorder or DVD player into a DV stream that can be saved and edited on a computer and, if desired, recorded back to VHS tape. However, unlike the Formac Studio it doesn't have a TV/radio tuner, bringing the price down about ?100 to ?249 +VAT. ...more

IBM appoints new chief

The IBM board of directors have elected a new CEO to succeed Lou Gerstner. Samuel J. Palmisano (pictured left, with Gerstner), currently IBM president and chief operating officer, will take over 1 March, but to smooth the transition Gerstner will remain chairman until the end of 2002. ...more

BT jumping into the virtualisation pool

BT is jumping wholeheartedly into the virtualisation pool, powered by grid computing (where computer resources are pooled and made available on-demand to a range of applications). Speaking at a UK grid computing seminar, BT Group's Innovations Delivery Manger, Frank Falcon highlighted the role of delivered services to the telco's long term future. Identifying network connectivity as the key issue in realising the potential of virtualisation, he sees this as playing to the strengths of a telecomms provider. ...more

UK album charts adopt digital sales

The UK Official Albums Charts will now include digital downloads for the first time. Responding to the rising importance of the Internet, the Official UK Charts Company (OCC) has apparently been running test charts since the beginning of the year The UK Official Albums Charts will now include digital downloads for the first time. Responding to the rising importance of the Internet, the Official UK Charts Company (OCC) has apparently been running test charts since the beginning of the year. ...more