Microsoft releases anti-spyware beta

As previously announced, Microsoft has now placed the anti-spyware tools it acquired last month when it bought Giant Software. Now that Windows XP Service Pack 2 has blocked many, although not all, of the vulnerabilities open to virus writers, spyware is set to become the biggest headache for end-users in 2005. The purchase of Giant Software is Microsoft's attempt to secure Windows from spyware before it reaches epidemic proportions, although some experts think that many computers already have dozens of pieces of spyware installed. ...more

The philanthropic side of Larry Ellison

Oracle is funding a charitable foundation to help 'increase access to the Internet in economically challenged communities'. Microsoft and Bill Gates donate many millions to volunteer organisations and charitable projects, and the founders of Hewlett-Packard were long been known for their philanthropic bent. Now Larry Ellison (Oracle Chairman and CEO) - better known for his 'hard fighting' business instincts - is joining their ranks. ...more

LaCie introduces 19in flat panel

LaCie has added a 19in display to its range of flat-panel, LCD monitors. The photon19vision has 1280x1024 pixels, with a 75Hz refresh rate, brightness of 250cd/m? and contrast ratio of 400:1. The monitor has VGA, DVI and ADC connectivity, a built-in four-port USB hub and is compatible with both Mac OS and Windows. ...more

For sale: Spitfire - one careful owner

Do you fancy burning up the skies in your own piece of World War II history? Well, now you can, courtesy of a new auction on eBay. Yes, if you have the moolah, you can get yourself a genuine WWII Spitfire and keep a genuine piece of history in the UK. The Spitfire Mk XVIII on offer is incredibly rare (there's only one other model in the world) and it has been completely restored by Historic Flying Ltd, taking part in a number of UK flying displays. ...more

Crash your browser in five easy steps

Web security site Secunia has discovered a bug in versions of IE 5.0 and above for Windows XP which can crash the browser in just five lines of HTML code. A demonstration of the code can be seen here. ...more