MS security flaw pulled from auction on eBay

Microsoft's crack team of counterfeit scouts must have been in for a shock if they were scouring eBay recently and came across a certain item selling for around $60. The online auction site last week pulled an auction for a security vulnerability in Microsoft's Excel spreadsheet program, offered by a seller under the moniker 'Fearwall'. The flaw had apparently been reported to Microsoft on 6 December, but has yet to be addressed by the company. ...more

MP calls for spam action

Paul Flynn has proposed a change in the law to outlaw spam email, as the tidal wave reaches even the far flung shores of MPs' inboxes. Flynn proposed in the House of Commons yesterday a 10-minute rule bill to alter the Consumer Protection (direct selling) regulations 2000 by making it an offence to send unsolicited commercial emails. Although the Bill is unlikely to be passed, Flynn took the action to add pressure for sterner and united action to tackle the problem. ...more

Viruses prefer IRC

A spate of four new viruses identified by Sophos around last weekend show chat app IRC the preferred means of pulling your computer's strings. Using IRC channels to gain remote access to a computer is not new, but these days its becoming a uniform component. Senior security consultant at Sophos, Carole Theriault, told us: 'The exploitation of chat systems such as IRC has grown in the last few years. ...more

US BlackBerry users could face cut off

BlackBerry users in the US could find themselves cut off unless the manufacturer, Research In Motion, settles a patent infringement lawsuit after its latest court appeal was rejected. Earlier this year RIM was found guilty of breaching a patent held by NTP that covers the sending of emails to wireless devices. Last week, US District Judge James Spencer rejected RIM's settlement offer of $450mn. ...more

PC World to offer on-the-spot credit checks for leased IT equipment

PC World will be leasing IT equipment to the SME sector, removing much of the red-tape with an on-the-spot credit check in its retail stores. By offering this 'convenience leasing' approach through its network of 120 high street stores, Dixons-owned PC World is hoping to capture business from the 3.5m SMEs in UK, many of which it claims have shied away from the lengthy process of organising equipment-leasing more suited to enterprises. ...more