Google's Gmail 'Not a hoax'

Well, it's 2 April and the story which had the entire Internet buzzing yesterday, seems to be true. Google will be launching its own email service with 1GB of storage and the ability to search all past emails. To pay for this, Google will automatically scan emails for keywords and place contextual ads in the client. ...more

'Geek spam' emerges as spammers play new trick

Hosted security firm Messagelabs claims geeks are being targetted explicitly by spammers using new techniques to subvert spam filters. It says that over the past few weeks it has seen a new spamming trend arise, which uses 'technobabble' to confuse spam filters into trusting spam mail. MessageLabs is calling it 'geek spam'. ...more

Security flaw discovered in QuickTime installation

Security firm eEye has discovered a flaw in the default installation of QuickTime. The company notified Apple 14 days ago and its practice is not to reveal details of the flaw until it has been fixed, confining itself to the following description: 'A vulnerability in default installations of the affected software that allows malicious code to be executed with little user interaction.' Further information is available in eEye Upcoming Advisory EEYEB-20040218. ...more

Let'sbuyit buys time

The road to bankruptcy for Letsbuyit.com has been made that bit longer with the news that it had raised the €4m needed to cover the costs of trustees. It said the funds came from existing investors and German venture capitalist Kimvestor, which may also grant a further €50m by the end of February. ...more

Belgian teen murdered over iPod

A Belgian teenager has been murdered after he refused to hand over his iPod to two youths attempting to rob him. Joe Van Holsbeeck, 17, was stabbed several times in the ticket hall of Brussels' central station in the middle of the afternoon and died several hours later. The Belgian prime minister, Guy Verhofstadt, said that catching the two perpetrators is 'an absolute priority' for the police. ...more