Microsoft security suit seeks class-action

Microsoft is at the wrong end of a suit alleging its software is vulnerable to viruses and seeking unspecified damages plus legal costs. The suit may attain class-action status. The complaint, filed on Tuesday on behalf of Californian film editor Marcy Levitas Hamilton, alleges unfair competition and infringement of two of the state's consumer laws, adding that Microsoft's security alerts are too technical for the end-user to understand and are released too early, giving virus writers time to exploit them. ...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

iPhone released - by Cisco

The iPhone has been released - but not by Apple. Cisco, which it seems has long held the rights to the name, has stuck it on a range of VoIP hardware. Released today in the US, the range comprises a range of cordless handsets offering a choice of standard phone calls, Skype calls and Wi-Fi Internet access. ...more

New worm exploits ancient IE flaw

Sophos yesterday alerted users to the presence of a new worm, under the name of Gibe-F or Swen.A@mm. The worm exploits a vulnerability in MIME components of Internet Explorer, for which a patch was first issued in March 2001. ...more

Grey Goo worm targets Second Life

Virtual world Second Life was forced to shut down for 15 minutes following an outbreak of a worm that brought servers running the game to a standstill. The worm, called 'Grey Goo', generated spinning golden rings reminiscent of the console game 'Sonic the Hedgehog'. As users picked up the rings, malicious scripts ran which propagated the worm and created more rings. ...more