The great and the good hacked

The great and the good gathered in Davos, Switzerland for the World Economic Forum. And they had their personal details hacked from the event's computer system, including credit card details. The breach was reported by the Swiss Sunday newspaper SonntagsZeitung, which received some of the data as evidence from the hackers, but it is still unclear whether the hacking was part of the anti-globalisation protests that surrounded the event. ...more

Twenty vulnerabilities addressed by latest security update

This month's bulletin dispatched from Redmond covers more than 20 critical and moderate vulnerabilities. They fix holes that have the potential to allow an attacker to remotely run code on a successfully exploited system and affects versions of Windows from 98 and NT Workstation 4.0 (with service pack 6a) to XP and Server 2003 - including the 64bit versions. ...more

Sony Blu-ray prototype reads legacy media

Three for the price of one is the promise of a new Sony prototype - a device that uses a three-wavelength laser to record and playback Blu-ray Discs (BD), DVDs and CDs. Not only is the reader capable of processing multiple formats, but it also shrinks the size of the optical head. As well as reducing the number of parts involved in optical readers, Sony claims the new design will increase operational reliability. ...more

BT dumps shares in British Interactive Broadcasting

With the wolves at the door, desperate measures are often called for and it seems that cash-strapped British Telecom is no exception. The company has just opted out of its deal with BSkyB over British Interactive Broadcasting, the interactive arm of the SkyDigital platform. BT exercised its right to give up its shares in the company on 14 May and will receive 19. ...more

Games copying software launched in face of copyright threats

321 Studios - a company that has already met with short shrift from Hollywood for its DVD X copy software, which allows a user to make an exact image of a DVD film - can expect a similarly cool reception from the games industry with its Game X Copy 'We designed Games X Copy with the parent in mind,' said Robert Moore, President and Founder of 321 Studios. 'This software is easy to use, so making backups of PC games literally takes one click of a button,' Moore continued. 'We designed it for parents, but it is easy enough to use that even the kids could make the backup, and take it on vacation or to a friend's house - and parents no longer have to worry about the original being damaged or lost. ...more